Management system

ABSTRACT

A management system in a facility providing games using a game table having play positions is provided with a member&#39;s card having a card RFID tag storing member information built in, and card RFID reader, which is installed at the play position of the game table and reads the member information from the card RFID tag.

FIELD

This invention relates to a management system in a facility thatprovides games using game tables.

BACKGROUND ART

In facilities that provide games using game tables (typically casinos),players are required to register as members and are issued a member'scard. The member's card stores member information (typically, member ID)that identifies the registered member. When a player, who is a member,plays a game at a game table, he hands the member's card to an operator(typically a dealer of the game table or a pit manager who managesmultiple game tables including the game table). The operator reads themember's card with a card scanner. A management device connected to thecard scanner identifies the member and stores a member's playing status(e.g., number of games played, results of wins and losses, amount ofbets, balance of payments, incentive points, etc.) in a storage devicein association with the member information.

The member actively provides his or her member's card to the operatorprior to play, motivated by the benefits obtained by the incentivepoints. The game provider can use the information on the members'playing status for marketing purposes instead of providing the memberswith benefits, and also enjoys the advantage of being able to use theinformation for detecting cheating.

However, if the member hands the member's card to the operator and theoperator scans the member's card in order to identify the member playingat each play position, the time and effort required to do so will affectthe game operation and reduce the efficiency of the game operation.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide amanagement system that is advantageous to identify a member for eachplay position with less reduction in game operation efficiency.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A management system of one embodiment is a management system in afacility providing a game using a game table having a play position, themanagement system comprising: a member's card having a card RFID tagstoring member information built in; and a card RFID reader that isprovided at the play position of the game table, and configured to readmember information from the card RFID tag.

With this configuration, the member information stored on the member'scard is read at the playing position, so the member does not need tohand the member's card to a dealer, the dealer does not need to performany operation on the member's card, and the management system knowswhich member has arrived at which playing position.

The above-mentioned management system may further comprise: a chipdetermination device configured to determine chip identificationinformation of a payout chip to be paid out to a play position; astorage medium configured to store member information in associationwith the chip identification information of a chip owned by a membercorresponding to the member information; and a management control deviceconfigured to store the member information read at the play positionwith the chip identification information of the payout chip determinedat the play position in association with each other in the storagemedium.

With this configuration, it is possible to store which member the payoutchip was paid out to, so that it is possible to determine which playerhas which chip.

The above-mentioned management system may further comprise: a chipdetermination device configured to determine a value of the payout chipto be paid out to the play position; a storage medium configured tostore member information and the value of the chip owned by a membercorresponding to the member information in association with each other;and a management control device configured to store the memberinformation read at the play position and the value of the payout chipdetermined in the play position in association with each other in thestorage medium.

With this configuration, it is possible to store which members have beenpaid out chips of what size value, so that the value of the chips heldby the members can be determined.

The above management system may further comprise: a storage mediumconfigured to store the member information and a bet amountcorresponding to the member information in association with each other;a chip determination device configured to determine chip identificationinformation of the bet chip bet at the play position; a databaseconfigured to store corresponding relationship between the chipidentification information and the value of the bet chip; and amanagement control device configured to determine value corresponding tothe chip information determined in the play position by referring to thedatabase and update the bet amount associated with the memberinformation stored in the storage medium for the member information readat the play position based on the value.

With this configuration, it is possible to store which member has bethow much. This bet amount can be used, for example, as an incentivepoint for the member.

The above-described management system may further comprise: a storagemedium configured to store member information associated with the betamount corresponding to the member information; a chip determinationdevice configured to determine the value of bet chips bet in the playposition; and a management control device configured to update the betamount associated with the member information stored in the storagemedium for the member information read at the play position based on thevalue of the bet chip determined at the play position.

This configuration also allows the system to store which member hasplaced a bet and by how much. This bet amount can be used, for example,as an incentive point for the member in question.

The above-described management system may further comprise: a chipdetermination device configured to determine chip identificationinformation of a reserve chip that is not bet at the play position; astorage medium configured to store the member information and the chipidentification information of the chip owned by the member correspondingto the member information in association with each other; and amanagement control device configured to store the member informationread at the play position and the chip identification information of thereserve chip determined at the play position in association with eachother in the storage medium.

With this configuration, even if the member is not stored ordefinitively stored as the holder of a reserve chip held by a member, byplacing such a reserve chip in the playing position, the memberinformation of the member can be associated as the holder of the chip.In addition, if there is a discrepancy in the holder, this can bedetected, and fraud can be detected by recording such discrepancy.

The above-described management system may further comprise: a chipdetermination device configured to determine the value of reserve chipsthat is not bet in the play position; a storage medium configured tostore the member information and the value of the chip owned by themember corresponding to the member information in association with eachother; and a management control device configured to store the memberinformation read at the play position and the value of the reserve chipdetermined at the play position in association with each other in thestorage medium.

This configuration also allows that even in cases where the member isnot stored or definitively stored as the holder of a reserve chip heldby a member, by placing such a reserve chip in a playing position, themember information of the member as the holder of said chip can beassociated. In addition, if there is a discrepancy in the holder, thiscan be detected, and fraud can be detected by recording suchdiscrepancy.

In the above-described management system, the chip identificationinformation of the chip may be stored in the chip RFID tag built intothe chip, the chip determination device and the card RFID reader may bethe same device, which is configured to read the chip RFID tag and thecard RFID tag.

With this configuration, a device for reading betting chips can be usedto read members' cards.

In the above-described management system, the value of the chip may bestored in the chip RFID tag built into the chip, the chip determinationdevice and the card RFID reader may be the same device, which isconfigured to read the chip RFID tag and the card RFID tag.

This configuration also allows a device for reading betting chips to beused to read members' cards.

In the above-described management system, the management control devicemay be configured to, when one card RFID reader reads a plurality ofmember information from a plurality of members' cards at the same time,store the plurality of member information read and the chipidentification information in association with each other in the storagemedium.

With this configuration, when there is a plurality of member informationto be associated with the chip identification information, the memberinformation can be associated with the chip identification information.

In the above-described management system, the storage medium may beprovided in the chip, in the members' card, or in a database that cancommunicate with the card RFID reader and the chip determination device.

The above management-described system may further comprise in the playposition: a card RFID reader for a sitting player; and a card RFIDreader for a back betting player.

With this configuration, member information can be determined for theback betting player as well.

In the above-described management system, the member's card may include:a regular member's card in which member information unique to theregistered member is stored in the card RFID tag; and a non-regularmember's card in which temporary member information is stored in thecard RFID tag.

With this configuration, unregistered players who have not registered asmembers can be managed using the member's card.

In the above-described management system, a plurality of the non-regularmembers' cards may have different temporary member information stored inthe card RFID tag.

With this configuration, even for unregistered players, it is possibleto manage the chips that they possess.

In the above management system, the game table may have a plurality ofthe play positions, and a card RFID reader is provided at each of theplurality of play positions.

With this configuration, even if the play table has multiple playpositions, the member can be identified for each play position.

According to the present invention, since the member information storedin the member's card is read at the play position, the player does notneed to hand the member's card to the dealer, and the dealer does notneed to perform any operation on the member's card, and the managementsystem can know which player has arrived at which play position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an overall overview of a table game managementsystem according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an overview of a database according to theembodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an RFID tag included in a game tokenaccording to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a method for recording data of a gametoken according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an overall overview of a game token managementsystem according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a reader and writer of the game token accordingto the second embodiment.

FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram of configuration of data of the gametoken according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7B is an explanatory diagram of configuration of data of a gametoken according to another second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a database according to the other secondembodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an overall overview of a table game managementsystem at a gaming hall having a plurality of game tables according to athird embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a result of reading a chip by a camera and RFIDaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a game table according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of a state of game tokens bet at the game tableaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a state of game tokens bet at the game tableaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 14A is a diagram of a detail of the chip tray according to a thirdembodiment.

FIG. 14B is a diagram of another example of a chip tray according to thethird embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of the game table according to the thirdembodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of a result of reading a chip by the camera andRFID according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram of a game table according to another thirdembodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram of a game table according to the other thirdembodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram of a game table according to the other thirdembodiment.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a game token according to the thirdembodiment.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of the game token according to thethird embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of the game token according to thethird embodiment.

FIG. 23 is the configuration of the management system of the firstexample according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of updating the variation information inthe first example according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 26 shows an example of the first example of the fourth embodimentfor updating the variation information.

FIG. 27 shows the configuration of the second example management systemaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 28 shows the configuration of the management system of the thirdexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 29 shows an example of updating the database of the third exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 30 shows an example of updating the database of the third exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 31 shows an example of updating the database of the third exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 32 shows the configuration of the management system of fourthexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 33 shows the configuration of the management system of the fifthexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 34 shows the configuration of the management system of the sixthexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 35 shows an example of updating the variation information of thesixth example according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 36 shows an example of updating the variation information of thesixth example according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 37 shows an example of updating the variation information of thesixth example according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 38 shows an example of updating the variation information of thesixth example according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 39 shows the configuration of the management system of the seventhexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 40 shows an example of updating the database of the seventh exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 41 shows an example of updating the database of the seventh exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 42 shows an example of updating the database of the seventh exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 43 shows an example of updating the database of the seventh exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 44 shows an example of updating the database of the seventh exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 45 shows the configuration of the management system of the eighthexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 46 shows the configuration of the management system of the ninthexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 47 shows an example of updating the variation information of theninth example according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 48 shows an example of updating the variation information of theninth example according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 49 shows an example of updating the variation information of theninth example according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 50 shows an example of a betting area of the eleventh exampleaccording to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 51A shows another example of the betting area of the eleventhexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 51B shows another example of the betting area of the eleventhexample according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 52 shows the configuration of the management system according tothe fifth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF NON-LIMITING EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

An overall overview of a table game management system according to afirst embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is adiagram of an overall overview of the table game management system. Agame table 1004 for a baccarat game includes betting areas includingplayer 1441, banker 1442, tie 1443, player pair 1444, and banker pair1445 for each of player positions 1131 to 1135. Each of the playerpositions is provided with a chip placement area 1025. The table gamemanagement system further includes a chip reader 1002 that reads RFID ofgame tokens 1001 placed on the chip placement areas.

Each of the chip placement areas 1025 includes a payment area 1026 onwhich a dealer places a game token 1001 removed from a chip tray 1009 ofthe game table 1004 when the dealer pays the game token 1001 out of thechip tray 1009 to a winning player.

Further, the table game management system includes a controller 1003that determines a result of reading RFID of the game token 1001 read bythe chip reader 1002.

First, a player who participates in a game bets a game token 1001 on abetting area in the chip placement area 1025. By the chip reader 1002reading RFID of the bet game token 1001, the controller 1003 determinesowner information of the game token 1001. The owner information isassociated with ID information of the RFID in a database.

In a case where a casino wins based on a result of the game, the dealercollects a game token 1001 bet by a losing player and places the gametoken 1001 in the chip tray 1009. The chip reader 1002 determines RFIDsof game tokens 1001 in the chip tray 1009, and the controller 1003records in the database that the game token 1001 collected by the casinois owned by the casino.

If a player wins based on the result of the game, the dealer pays a gametoken 1001 in an amount corresponding to an amount of a bet chip out ofa chip tray to the winning player according to a rule of the game.

At a time of payout, a payout chip may be placed on the above-describedpayment area 1026 or on a chip placement area 1025 other than thepayment area.

Here, a method for recording owner information of the payout chip willbe described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 illustrates a method forrecording owner information of the game token 1001 when the chip is paidto the winning player.

In a case where a plurality of players place bet chips, and there aretwo or more stacks of the bet chips in the same player position, thechip reader 1002 collectively reads the game tokens 1001 placed on thechip placement area 1025. Thus, during a game, the chip reader 1002acquires an ID 1010 of the bet game tokens without determining whichgame token 1001 belongs to which player. When payment is to be made to awinning player after determination of a win/loss result of the game, thedealer pays out to each winning player (for each stack) from the chiptray 1009. A game token 1001 removed from the chip tray 1009 is placedon a chip placement area 1025. The chip reader 1002 reads an ID 1011 ofthe payout chip placed on the chip placement area 1025.

The winning player receives the paid out game token 1001 together withthe originally bet game token 1001. At this time, because the bet chipand the payout chip transfer outside the chip placement area 1025, an IDof the bet chip and an ID of the payout chip disappear from the readingresult by the chip reader 1002. With this arrangement, the controller1003 determines to which player the payout chip has been paid byassociating with the owner information of the bet chip.

The controller 1003 stores the determined owner information of thepayout chip in the database by associating the owner information withthe ID of the game token.

The above-described arrangement enables traceability of the owner of thegame token 1001 and, in a case of wrong transfer of the game token 1001,detection of the owner information stored in the database beingdifferent from information of an actual owner.

Note that the actual owner can be identified by using faceauthentication technology or an ID of a membership card.

In the above description, an ID of each game token is managed in adatabase. However, the game token 1001 itself may store ownerinformation.

In addition to the above-described case where a payment area 1026 isprovided to each player position, a payment area may be providedseparately from the player positions, and the chip reader 1002 mayperform reading independently.

Use or non-use of the payment area 1026 may be selected depending onreading performance of the chip reader 1002.

The table game management system may be able to use information mutuallywith an RFID reader that reads chips in the chip tray 1009 by RFID, acamera that reads a bet chip, a win/loss result determination devicesuch as a shoe that determines a win/loss result of a game, or otherdevice, which is connected to the table game management system.

First, a game token used in a game token management system according toan embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 illustrates a game token 1 usedin the game token management system. In FIG. 3, an RFID tag 2 capable ofstoring various pieces of information is embedded in the game token 1.The RFID tag 2 has a data non-rewritable area 21 and a data rewritablearea 22.

The data non-rewritable area 21 stores, as fixed information 3,information that is not to be changed, that does not change, or thatmust not be changed while the game token 1 is used. Specifically, thedata non-rewritable area 21 stores, as the fixed information 3,production information, product information, casino information, amountinformation, a serial number, or the like of the game token 1. Theproduction information includes date and time when the game token wasmanufactured, manufacturing machine used for manufacturing the gametoken, or other information. The product information includes, forexample, information indicating that the game token is a chip for a VIParea of a casino and information indicating a type of the chip (forexample, rolling chip or cash chip).

The data non-rewritable area 21 may be a functionally non-writable areadue to a specification of the RFID tag, or may be a writable area lockedto disable writing of data after necessary information is written.

The data rewritable area 22 stores, as variable information 4,information that changes while the game token 1 is used. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 3, the data rewritable area 22 stores, as thevariable information 4, location information 220 including date/timeinformation 221, place/event information 222, owner information 223, orother information.

The fixed information 3 and the variable information 4 may be encryptedin order to prevent wrong reading or writing of information by anotherperson. Further, the fixed information 3 and the variable information 4may be stored as metadata.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method for recording data of thevariable information 4 of the game token 1. As illustrated in FIG. 4,the location information 220 including date/time information 221,place/event information 222, and owner information 223 is set as ablock. Then, blocks of the location information 220 are connected in achain so that history of the location information 220 of the game token1 can be determined.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the variable information 4 stored inthe game token 1, and transference of the game token 1 as describedbelow can be determined. At 16:02 on Jan. 28, 2019, Mr. A exchanges cashand a game token 1 at a cage 5. At 16:15 on the same day, Mr. A makes abet at table No. 325 by using the game token 1. At 16:43 on the sameday, Mr. B receives the game token 1 as a redemption for having won abet at table No. 325. At 17:01 on the same day, Mr. B exits a casino,carrying the game token 1.

The variable information 4 may be configured to store only latestlocation information or store all written location information. Further,some of a plurality of pieces of location information may be selectedand stored as illustrated in FIG. 4. In a case where some pieces of thelocation information 220 are selected and stored among all of thelocation information, a plurality of pieces of the location informationincluding at least the latest location information 220 may be stored.With the above configuration, history of use or transference of acertain game token 1 is known from variable information 4 of the gametoken 1. That is, traceability information of the game token 1 iswritten in the game token 1 itself to be determined.

Next, a management system for the game token 1 of the present embodimentwill be described. FIG. 5 illustrates an overall overview of themanagement system.

First, at a factory 6, a writer 14 writes, in the data rewritable area22 of the RFID tag 2 of the game token 1, the variable information 4including information of manufacturing completion or factory shipment aslocation information 220.

The game token 1 shipped from the factory 6 is subjected to a receivingprocess in a backyard 7 of the casino. In the backyard 7, a reader 13reads the variable information 4 stored in the data rewritable area 22of the game token 1. Then, on the basis of the reading result, amanagement controller 15 determines whether or not the locationinformation 220 indicating that the information has been written at thefactory 6, which is expected to be written, is actually written aslatest variable information 4. If there is no record of writing at thefactory 6, an error signal is generated indicating that the game tokenis possibly being wrong. This allows the casino to refuse to receive thegame token or to request a factory to conduct investigation. If there isno problem in record of writing, in the data rewritable area 22 of theRFID tag 2, the writer 14 writes location information 220 indicating abackyard. At a time of writing, the location information indicating thebackyard may be written either in addition to the location informationindicating the factory or after deleting the location informationindicating the factory. Further, reading and writing of the game tokenin the backyard 7 described above can be performed together with usualvalidation or activation of the game token.

The game token 1 of which receiving inspection has been completed in thebackyard 7 is carried to a warehouse 8 or cage 9 of the casino. In thewarehouse 8 or the cage 9, the reader 13 reads the variable information4 stored in the data rewritable area 22 of the game token 1. Then, onthe basis of a reading result, a management controller 15 determineswhether or not the location information 220 indicating that theinformation has been written at the backyard 7, which is expected to bewritten, is actually written as latest variable information 4. Further,it may be also inspected whether information indicating the factory 6 iswritten in history of the variable information 4. The managementcontroller 15 determines whether or not any abnormality is present inthe history of the location information, similarly to theabove-described inspection in the backyard 7. If there is no problem ina reading result, the writer 14 writes, in the data rewritable area 22,location information 220 indicating the warehouse 8 or the cage 9.

A player purchases the game token 1 at the cage 9. When the playerpurchases the game token 1, a writer 14 at the cage 9 writes, as thevariable information 4, time at which the game token is purchased andinformation indicating change of the owner of the game token from thecasino to a customer. The player may be identified and recorded by faceauthentication technology or an ID card such as a membership card of thecasino or an official ID card.

The player makes a bet by placing the purchased game token 1 on abetting area 11 at a game table. From the RFID tag 2 of the bet gametoken 1, a reader 13 reads the location information 220 includingdate/time information 221, place/event information 222, and ownerinformation 223. The management controller 15 determines whether or notany abnormality is present. It can be determined that abnormality ispresent, for example, in a case where a certain period has passed sincelast written date and time of information of use at a game table orinformation of cashing in at a cage, or in a case where the ownerinformation 223 stored in the game token 1 and the owner information 223identified by face authentication or an ID card are different from eachother.

If there is no problem in a reading result, the writer 14 adds thelocation information 220 to the data rewritable area 22 of the bet gametoken 1. The location information 220 includes date/time information221, place/event information 222, and owner information 223. At thetable, for example, the writer 14 writes variable information 4including information of a player position number where the game token 1is placed and information of the player. The player information may beidentified by an ID card or face authentication. Usually, a plurality ofgame tokens 1 are stacked and placed on the betting area 11, andtherefore writing is performed collectively for the stacked game tokens1.

When the player takes the game token 1 out of a casino floor, exitprocessing is performed at a gate 10. At a time of exit of the player,the reader 13 reads the location information 220, and the managementcontroller 15 determines whether or not any abnormality is present withthe variable information 4. Further, at the gate 10, the writer 14writes the variable information 4 including place/event information 222indicating the exit and owner information 223.

In a case where the player brings in the game token 1, which has beentaken out before, and enters the casino floor, the reader 13 reads thelocation information, and a management controller determines whether ornot any abnormality is present with the variable information 4. It ispossible to determine that there has been transfer of the game tokenoutside the casino, for example in a case where the owner of the gametoken 1 once taken out of the casino is different between at the time ofexit the casino and at the time of entry to the casino.

The above-described management controller 15 may output an alarm to thecage 9 or to the gate 10 in a case where a reading result by the reader13 is determined to be abnormal. On the basis of the alarm output by themanagement controller 15, cashing in may be refused when the owner ofthe game token 1 attempts to cash in at the cage 9, or a check may beconducted individually when the owner of the game token 1 exits the gate10. Further, in a case where a determination result is abnormal, themanagement controller 15 may issue an alarm to a dealer of each gametable to interrupt a game or may issue an alarm to a pit, and a pitmanager may determine to interrupt or continue a game, or determine toexchange the game token 1. Alternatively, the management controller 15may be connected to an overall management controller 18 of the casinoand may issue an alarm to the overall management controller 18.

Similarly, the management controller 15 may determine whether or not anyabnormality is present in the variable information 4 read by the reader13 when the game token 1 is exchanged for cash at the cage.Specifically, the management controller 15 may determine thatabnormality is present in a case where a certain period has passed sincelatest written date and time of information of use at a game table orinformation of cashing in at the cage, or in a case where the ownerinformation 223 stored in the game token 1 and information of a personwho is going to exchange the game token 1 for cash are different fromeach other. In a case where abnormality has been determined to bepresent with the game token 1, the management controller 15 may outputan alarm to refuse to exchange the game token 1 for cash.

Further, the above description is given of a case where the reader 13performs reading, a management controller performs determination, andthen the writer 14 performs writing. However, the reading and thewriting may be performed simultaneously.

In the following, details of application of an embodiment will bedescribed.

At the factory 6, the RFID tag 2 is read and/or written at a time ofproduction completion or product shipment. The writer 14 writes theproduction information and the product information as the fixedinformation 3 and locked it so as not to be rewritten if necessary, andwrites the variable information 4.

At the backyard 6, the game token 1 shipped from the factory isreceived, and the RFID tag 2 is read and/or written when the game token1 is activated as a usable game token 1.

At the warehouse 8, the RFID tag 2 is read and/or written when the gametoken 1 is transferred from the warehouse 8 to the cage 9, or from thecage 9 to the warehouse 8. Alternatively, the RFID tag 2 of the gametoken 1 kept in the warehouse 8 may be read and/or written at regulartime intervals or at a predetermined timing.

At the cage 9, the RFID tag 2 is read and/or written when the game token1 is transferred from or to the warehouse 8 or when cash owned by acustomer and the game token 1 are exchanged. In a case where cash andthe game token 1 are exchanged at the cage 9, as the variableinformation 4, place/event information 222 indicating the exchange andowner information 223 indicating a player who exchanged the cash and thegame token 1 are written. The owner information 223 can be acquired froma casino ID card of the player, a face authentication system, a creditcard, or the like.

At the gate 10, the RFID tag 2 is read and/or written on entry or exitof the player. To all game tokens 1 that a player takes out of thecasino when exiting the casino, as the variable information 4,place/event information 222 indicating the taking out and ownerinformation 223 indicating a player who takes out the game tokens 1 arewritten and registered. Similarly, at a time of entry to the casino, asthe variable information 4, place/event information 222 indicating thebringing in and owner information 223 indicating a player who brings inthe game token 1 are written and registered to the game token 1 broughtin the casino.

At the betting area 11, the RFID tag 2 of the game token 1 that a playerplaced on the betting area 11 to participate in a betting is read and/orwritten. The RFID tag 2 of a game token 1 that the dealer has placed ona betting area 11 as redemption to the player is read and/or written.

In a chip tray 12, the RFID tag 2 of each of the game tokens 1 collectedin the chip tray and the RFID tag 2 of each of the game tokens 1 kept inthe chip tray are read and/or written.

Further, the game table may include a payout area including area 2007and the payment area 1026, and the RFID tag 2 of a game token 1 that thedealer has placed on the betting area 11 as redemption to a player maybe read and/or written.

The management controller 15 has a function to determine whether or notany abnormality is present in location information 220 obtained from areading result by a reader 13 at each place. Determination of presenceof abnormality is made in a case where the game token 1 has not beenused for a predetermined period since last writing, or where locationinformation, which is supported to be written, is not written.

A situation where the game token 1 has not been used for a predeterminedperiod since last writing is a situation where: 1) latest locationinformation indicates the cage 9, and a predetermined period has passedbefore next information is written, 2) latest location informationindicates entry at the gate 10, and a predetermined period has passedbefore next information is written, or 3) latest location informationindicates exit at the gate 10, and a predetermined period has passedbefore next information is written.

A situation where location information, which is supported to bewritten, is not written is a situation where: 4) at a time of entry to agaming hall, information indicating exit at the gate 10 is not writtenas latest location information in data rewritable area 22 of the gametoken 1, 5) at a time of use at the cage 9, information indicating thebackyard 7 is not written, or 6) at a time of exit from the gaming hall,information indicating the cage 9 or the backyard 7 is not written.

On the basis of the owner information 223 obtained from the reader 13,the management controller 15 can determine presence of abnormalitywhen: 1) a person different from a latest owner whose information isstored in the data rewritable area 22 exchanges the game token 1 forcash or another game token in the gaming hall, or exits the gaming hall,or 2) a person different from an owner at a time of exit whoseinformation is stored in the data rewritable area 22 brings the gametoken in the gaming hall.

On the basis of information obtained from the reader 13 and indicating aplace of the betting area 11, or information indicating location of thechip tray 12 or a payout area, the management controller 15 determinespresence of abnormality when: 1) a person different from a latest ownerwhose information is stored in the data rewritable area 22 uses the gametoken 1 at a game table, 2) a person different from the person whopurchased, at the cage 9, a game token 1 without a record of use at thegame table attempts to exchange the game token 1 at the cage 9, 3) agame token 1 not including information indicating the cage 9 or thebackyard 7 is used in the gaming hall, or 4) latest location informationis information indicating the betting area 11 or the payout area, andafter a predetermined period has passed, the game token 1 is exchangedfor cash at the cage 9 or is used at the game table.

FIG. 8 illustrates a database according to another embodiment. Themanagement system further includes a database 17 that records similarfixed information 3 and variable information 4 outside the game token 1.The management controller 15 is able to record information in thedatabase 17 on the basis of a reading result by the reader 13, check thefixed information 3 and the variable information 4 stored in the gametoken 1 with information in the database, and determine presence ofabnormality.

In the RFID tag 2 according to the embodiment, a functionallynon-writable area in the data non-rewritable area 21 may be a tagidentifier (TID) area. An area in the data non-rewritable area 21, whichis locked to disable further writing of data after necessary informationis written, may be an electronic product code (EPC) area or a user area.The data rewritable area 22 may be an EPC area or a user area.

The reader 13 and the writer 14 may be changed in form depending on aplace. For example, the reader 13 and the writer 14 may be on a board atthe factory 6 as illustrated in FIG. 6, and may be box-shaped at thegate 10. The betting area 11 or the chip tray 12 may include functionsof the reader 13 and the writer 14. Further, the game token 1 either maybe read and written in a stacked state without any support or may beread and written while being contained, for example, in a chip case.Further, the reader 13 and the writer 14 may be unified.

The above embodiment describes a case where a game token has one RFIDtag, and the single RFID tag has an area in which writing to data isimpossible and a data rewritable area. Meanwhile, there may be a casewhere two RFID tags are embedded in the game token. In this case, oneRFID tag stores fixed information and then is locked to disable datawriting, and another RFID tag is left data-rewritable to record variableinformation.

However, in this case, when a plurality of game tokens are readcollectively, an information group of fixed information 3 and aninformation group of variable information 4 are read separately asillustrated in FIG. 7A. Therefore, a problem arises in that acombination of fixed information and variable information of a specificgame token cannot be determined, and a game token having abnormalvariable information cannot be identified.

On the other hand, in the case of one RFID tag, as illustrated in FIG.7B, mutually corresponding fixed information and variable informationthat are read by a reader can be determined even when a plurality ofgame tokens are read collectively. Therefore, a game token having asingle RFID tag is conceived to be preferable.

In general, an RFID tag with a larger diameter has higher readingaccuracy. Therefore, in a case where an RFID tag is embedded in the gametoken, a diameter of the RFID tag is preferably at least equal to orlarger than a radius of the RFID tag. Thus, it is not preferable thattwo RFID tags are embedded in the game token, in which case, thediameter of each of the RFID tags becomes smaller. Further, the numberof RFID tags to be read increases with a game token including two RFIDtags, resulting in lower reading speed at a time of reading a pluralityof game tokens.

In view of the above, a game token having a single RFID tag isconsidered to be more effective.

Described below is an overall overview of a table game management systemat a gaming hall having a plurality of game tables according to anembodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an overall overview of thetable game management system. The table game management system having aplurality of game tables 2004 at a gaming hall includes a game recorder2011 that records an image of a game at a game table 2004 including animage of the game token 1, via a plurality of cameras 2002, an imageanalyzer 2012 that performs image analysis on the recorded images, achip reader 25 that reads RFID added to the game token 1, and a gameresult determination device 18 that determines and displays a result ofeach game played at the game table 2004.

The game result determination device 18 is, for example, a carddistributor 2003, which is a so-called electronic shoe that have beenused by persons skilled in the art. A rule of a game is previouslyprogrammed in the card distributor 2003, which is configured to readinformation of a distributed card C and determine win or loss of thegame. For example, in a baccarat game, a win of a banker, a win of aplayer, and a tie (draw) are basically determined by each rank of two tothree cards, and a determination result (win/loss result) is displayedby a result display lamp 2013.

In FIG. 9, a game table 2004 is a table for baccarat and provided withfive sitting numbers 13, allowing five game participants to participatein a game. The five sitting numbers are “sitting number 1” 131, “sittingnumber 2” 132, “sitting number 3” 133, “sitting number 5” 134, and“sitting number 6” 135. A betting area 44 is provided to each sittingnumber 13. The betting area 44 of a sitting number 13 includes each areafor player (PLAYER) 441, banker (BANKER) 442, tie (TIE) 443, player pair(P) 444, and banker pair (B) 445. Each game participant makes a bet byplacing a game token 1 in an amount to be bet at a positioncorresponding to a bet target. In FIG. 9, for example, at a sittingnumber 5, two game tokens 1 are placed on tie 443 and two game tokens 1are placed on player 441 for betting. The game table 2004 furtherincludes a player card area 45 for placing a drawn player card and abanker card area 46 for placing a drawn banker card.

Via a camera 2002 and the image analyzer 2012, the controller 2014 isable to determine on which position (player, banker, tie, or pair) in abetting area 2008 each player 2006 has bet a game token 1, and types andthe number of the bet game tokens 1. Different colors are assigned togame tokens 1 in different values. That is, to the controller 2014 candetermine that, for example, at the sitting number 5, two game tokens 1are bet on tie 443 and two game tokens 1 are bet on player 441.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the chip reader 25 is arranged so that RFIDsof the game tokens 1 in a reading area can be collectively read byregarding an entire betting area for each sitting number as one readingarea. In the RFID attached to a game token 1, unique ID information, andan amount, type, manufacturing information, owner information, or thelike, of the game token 1 are written. Alternatively, the ID informationand the amount, type, manufacturing information, owner information, orthe like, of the game token 1 may be associated and stored in adatabase. By reading the RFID attached to the game token 1, the chipreader 25 can determine a total amount or the number of game tokens 1for each sitting number. That is, for example, a type, an amount, and anID of each of four game tokens bet at the sitting number 5 can bedetermined.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, on the basis of types and the number of thegame tokens 1 bet at each betting area of each sitting number based animage analysis result by the image analyzer 2012, the controller 2014determines a total amount or the total number of the game tokens 1 foreach sitting number. Then, to determine agreement, the controller 2014compares the determined a total amount or the total number of the gametokens 1 with a total amount or the total number of the game tokens 1for each sitting number based on information of RFIDs of the game tokens1 read by the chip reader 25. Furthermore, a sitting number for which anamount or the total number of the game tokens 1 determined to bedisagreeing can be output, and therefore a sitting number having aproblem can be identified.

In a case where the total amount or the total number of the game tokens1 for each sitting number based on the image analysis result by the chipreader 25 is smaller than the total amount or the total number of thegame tokens 1 for each sitting number based on the reading result by animage analyzer 2012, there is a possibility that RFID attached to a gametoken 1 is broken, the RFID cannot be read, or RFID is not attached tothe game token 1. In FIG. 10, the read total number of game tokens 1 betat sitting number 1, based on image analysis by the image analyzer 2012,is four, whereas the total number of the game tokens 1 based on readingof RFID by the chip reader 25 is three. Therefore, it is conceivablethat one of the four game tokens 1 bet at the sitting number 1 hasunreadable RFID.

In a case where the total amount or the total number of the game tokens1 for each sitting number based on the image analysis result by the chipreader 25 is larger than the total amount or the total number of thegame tokens 1 for each sitting number based on the reading result by theimage analyzer 2012, there is a possibility that the image analyzer 2012has not been able to read the game token 1 for such reasons that thegame token 1 is in a blind spot of a camera. In FIG. 10, the read totalnumber of game tokens 1 bet at sitting number 3, based on image analysisby the image analyzer 2012, is one, whereas the total number of the gametokens 1 based on reading of RFID by the chip reader 25 is two.Therefore, there is a possibility that only one of the two game tokens 1bet at a sitting number 3 has been recognized by the image analyzer2012.

ID information of the RFID attached to the game token 1 is registered ina database of a casino. Information of production and shipment at afactory, and information of reception, validation, and activation at thecasino are recorded. The controller 2014 can check the information ofthe RFID read by the chip reader 25 with information in the database anddetermine authenticity of the registered information of the game token 1to be used in the casino.

With this configuration, types and the number of the game tokens 1 betat each betting area can be determined by the camera. Further, on thebasis of RFID information of game tokens 1 read by the chip reader 25, awrong or defective game token 1 can be identified for each sittingnumber.

The table game management system further includes a game participantidentification unit using a face authentication system or a player IDcard, and the controller 2014 can associate game participant informationidentified by the game participant identification unit with a sittingnumber. For each game participant, the controller 2014 can store the betamount, redeeming or collecting amount, and win/loss information, whichare stored for each sitting number. Further, the controller 2014 cancollectively store information of a plurality of games that gameparticipants play at a plurality of tables.

By using a chip tray determination device 12, the controller 2014 candetermine a total amount of the game tokens 1 in a chip tray 17 of adealer 2005 at the game table 2004. After a game end and settlement, thecontroller 2014 can calculate to figure out whether a total amount ofthe game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17 has increased or decreased bycomparing an amount of collected lost game tokens 1 that each player2006 has bet with an amount of payment 9W to a winning player 2006W forwon chips, according to a win/loss result of the game. A chip traydetermination device may capture an image of the game tokens 1 containedin the chip tray 17 by using the camera 2002 and, on the basis ofanalysis by an image analyzer 2012, determine the total amount of thegame tokens 1 in the chip tray 17. Further, the chip tray determinationdevice may detect the total amount of the game tokens 1 contained in thechip tray 17 by providing an RFID reader to the chip tray 17.

In this example, a wrong or an error is detected on the basis of awin/loss result of the game, information about how many and what type ofgame token 1 has been bet on which position (player, banker, tie, orpair) in the betting area 2008, and increase or decrease in amount ofthe game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17 after collection of lost chips andredemption for a won game token 1. Therefore, a wrong or an error can bedetected without determining transference of the game tokens 1 after agame end, that is, whether a bet game token 1 has transferred to aplayer side or a dealer side.

Here, in a case of baccarat for example, a win/loss result of a game canbe determined according to a rule of baccarat by the card distributor2003 reading a rank of the card C drawn out in the game. Further, thewin/loss result can be determined by capturing an image of a top of thegame table 2004 by a camera 2002, analyzing the image by the imageanalyzer 2012, and then checking an analysis result with a rule of thegame by the controller 2014. In this case, a game result determinationdevice includes the camera 2002, the image analyzer 2012, and thecontroller 2014. Information of how many and what type of game tokens 1a player at each sitting number 7 has bet on which position (player,banker, tie, player pair, banker pair) in a betting area 2008 isobtained by the camera 2002 capturing an image of the game tokens 1placed on the betting area 2008 and the image analyzer 2012 analyzingthe image for each play position 7.

Further, increase in amount of the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17from before collection to after collection of a lost game token 1 anddecrease in amount of the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17 from beforeredemption to after redemption for a won game token 1 can be calculatedby comparison of a total amount of the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17before the collection of the lost game token 1 and redemption for thewon game token 1 with a total amount of the game tokens 1 in the chiptray 17 after the collection of the lost game token 1 and redemption forthe won game token 1.

For example, assuming that a total amount of the game tokens 1 in thechip tray 17 before start of the game is Bb, and a total amount of thegame tokens 1 in the chip tray 17 after the end of the game andcollection of lost chips and redemption for a won chip are completed isBa. Further, assuming that, in this game, a total amount of the gametokens 1 bet on player areas of all play positions 7 is bp, a totalamount of the game tokens 1 bet on banker areas of all the playpositions 7 is bb, and a total amount of the game tokens 1 bet on tieareas of all the play positions 7 is bt. For example, in a case where abanker is a winner as a win/loss result of the game, Ba−Bb=bp−bb+btshould be established. Alternatively, Ba, which is the total amount ofthe game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17 after the end of the game, shouldbe (Bb+bp−bb+bt). If this is not the case, it can be determined thatthere has been a wrong or an error in collection or redemption of thechips.

FIG. 14A is a diagram illustrating details of a chip tray of the presentembodiment, and FIG. 14B is a diagram illustrating another example ofthe chip tray. The chip tray 17 includes a collection chip tray 171 fortemporarily keeping a collected game token 1L bet by a losing player2006L, and a redemption chip tray 172 for keeping a game token 1W to beredeemed. The image analyzer 2012 and the controller 2014 determinepositions, types, and the number of the game tokens 1L bet by the losingplayer 2006L, and calculate an increase in amount of the game token 1L,which is the amount of the game token 1 expected to be in the collectionchip tray 171. Further, the image analyzer 2012 and the controller 2014determine an actual total amount of the game tokens 1 in the collectionchip tray 171 after the collection, and compare the expected totalamount with the actual total amount to determine whether or not there isa difference.

The controller 2014 further performs redemption for the game token 1 tobe redeemed, and after the redemption, compares a total amount of thechips expected to be in the chip tray based on the amount of the chipsexpected to be redeemed in the game, which is calculated from positions,types, and the number of chips each game participant bet at the gametable and based on a game result, with the actual total amount of thechips in the chip tray to determine whether or not there is adifference.

Further, the game token 1W is redeemed to the winning player 2006W byusing a game token 1 in a redemption chip tray 172. Thus, it is possibleto secure sufficient time for the image analyzer 2012 and the controller2014 determine an actual total amount of the game tokens 1 in thecollection chip tray 171 after the collection.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the controller 2014calculates, for each game, income and outgo of chips from an amount ofbet chips placed on the game table 2004 and a win/loss result of thegame, and verifies an increase in balance of the chips in the chip tray17 after the end of the game. If a difference is detected in thisverification, the controller 2014 issues an alarm or adds a record ofthe difference to a record of a video image captured by the camera 2002.A casino operator can track down a cause of the difference by reviewingthe video image.

A table game management system according to the present embodimentcalculates, from total amount of the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17before settlement for each game, an increase or decrease in amount ofchips in the game calculated from positions, types, and the number ofgame tokens 1 bet by all players 2006 of the game and from a win/lossresult of the game obtained by a win/loss result determination device.Then, the table game management system compares an expected total amountof the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17 after settlement of the gameend with an actual total amount of the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17at the game end, which is obtained via the image analyzer 2012, todetermine whether or not there is a difference.

Via the image analyzer 2012, the controller 2014 determines positions,types, and the number of chips bet by each player, and determines anactual total amount of chips in the chip tray at an end of collection ofall lost chips bet by each player. Then, the controller 2014 compares anexpected total amount of the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17, which isobtained by adding an increase in chips in the chip tray 17 determinedby positions, types, and the number of chips bet by a losing player, toa total amount of chips of the game in the chip tray before settlementof each game, with an actual total amount of the game tokens 1 in thechip tray 17 to determine whether or not there is a difference.

In a case where the controller 2014 compares an expected total amount ofthe game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17, which is obtained by adding anincrease in chips in the chip tray 17 determined by positions, types,and the number of the game tokens 1 bet by a losing player, to a totalamount of the game tokens 1 of the game in the chip tray 17 beforesettlement of each game, with an actual total amount of the game tokens1 in the chip tray 17 and determines there is no difference between theexpected total amount and the actual total amount, and in addition,compares an expected total amount of the game tokens 1 in the chip tray17 after settlement at the end of the game with an actual total amountof the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17 at the end of the game, whichis obtained via the image analyzer 2012, and determines that there is adifference between the expected total amount and the actual totalamount, the controller 2014 determines there has been a wrong paymentand issues an error signal that notifies of the wrong payment.

The chip tray 17 includes the collection chip tray 171 that collects andtemporarily keeps the game tokens 1 bet by a losing player. The imageanalyzer 2012 compares an expected total amount of the game tokens 1 inthe collection chip tray 171, which is obtained by adding an increase inamount of the game tokens 1 in the game calculated from positions, typesand the number of the game tokens 1L bet by the losing player, with anactual total amount of the game tokens 1 in the collection chip tray 171to determine whether or not there is a difference between the expectedtotal amount and the actual total amount.

In a case where the controller 2014 determines a difference in which adetermined actual total amount of the game tokens 1 in the chip tray 17of the dealer 2005 at the game table 2004 is not corresponding to anincrease or decrease in amount of chips calculated from an amount ofchips bet by all players and a win/loss result of the game, the gamerecorder 2011 can play back with an index or time attached to anacquired image or with a scene of collection or payment of the gametoken 1 specified, so that a record of the game in which the abovedifferent has occurred can be analyzed in the game recorder 2011.

As described above, the controller 2014 obtains a total amount of chipsin the chip tray 17 via the image analyzer 2012 after the settlement atthe end of the game. In this case, determination after settlement isperformed when: 1) redemption for the won game token 1 is completed, 2)the card C used in the game is collected and discarded in a discard area41 or discard slot 42 of the table, 3) a predetermined button attachedto a win/loss result determination device is pressed, or 4) a marker 43that indicates win or loss is reset.

Further, the controller 2014 has an artificial-intelligence utilizationstructure or deep-learning structure, which allows the controller 2014to determine positions (player, banker, or pair) and an amount (typesand the number) of chips bet at each play position 7 of the game table2004, and to extract win/loss history of each player 2006, which isobtained from a win/loss result of each game, and an amount of obtainedchips (an amount of won chips) as an unusual situation specified by acasino, compared with statistical data of many games in the past (bigdata). Typically, the controller 2014 includes anartificial-intelligence utilization structure or deep-learningstructure, which can extract, as an unusual situation compared withstatistical data (big data, or the like) of games in the past, a case ofa winning amount of a certain amount (one million dollars) or more, or acase of a series of several games in which amounts of bet chips aresmall in losing games and amounts of bet chips are large in winninggames at a play position 7 of the game table 2004.

Furthermore, unified with the image analyzer 2012, the controller 2014of this table game management system is configured to be able toidentify an individual player 2006 at the play position 7 which has wona predetermined amount or more or at which an unusual situation isextracted. In identification of such a player 2006, in the imageanalyzer 2012, feature points of an image of a face is obtained by, forexample, extraction of a feature point, and the image is identified byadding an identification number (ID, or the like) to the image. Then,the controller 2014 has an alarm function of notifying another gametable of the presence of a specific player when the specific player 2006leaves the seat and sits at the other game table. Specifically, a pitmanager or a person in charge of each table (or a dealer) who manageseach game table 2004 is notified to further prevent an unusualsituation.

The controller 2014 can identify a collected game token 1 for eachsitting number on the basis of information of an ID of RFID of thecollected game token 1 determined by the chip tray determination deviceand information of an ID of RFID of the game token 1 read by the chipreader 25.

In FIG. 11, game tokens 1 are bet as illustrated in the detail tables inFIGS. 12 and 13. In analysis by the image analyzer 2012, places (player,banker, or the like) where the game tokens 1 are bet and the number (andamount) of the bet game tokens 1 can be determined. Meanwhile, inreading by the chip reader 25, an ID of RFID attached to a game token 1can be determined for each sitting number. Further, because a chip traydetermination device can determine IDs of game tokens 1 in a chip tray9, the chip tray determination device can determine a collected gametoken 1 by determining IDs added from before collection to aftercollection. In a case where a banker has won as a game result in FIGS.11 to 13, an analysis result by the image analyzer 2012 shows that,among IDs of the collected chips determined by the chip traydetermination device, two pieces of chips bet on banker pair should becollected, and that two pieces of chips of ID 6 and ID 18 that the chipreader 25 has read as chips bet at the sitting number 5 have beencollected.

The controller 2014 determines the total amount or the total number ofthe game tokens 1 expected to be collected for each sitting number,which is determined by using a measurement result of positions, anamount, and the number of the game tokens 1 based on a game resultobtained from the game result determination device and an image analysisresult by the image analyzer. Therefore, the controller 2014 cancompare, to determine agreement, the total amount or the total number ofthe game tokens 1 collected for each sitting number, which is determinedbased on RFID, with the total amount or the total number of the gametokens 1 expected to be collected based on the image analysis result.

For example, in a case where a reading result by the chip reader 25 ofthe sitting number 1 is “A, B, C, D, E,” an analysis result by the imageanalyzer 2012 is “two pieces on tie, and two pieces on banker,” the gameresult is “winning of banker,” and a reading result by a chip traydetermination device 18 is “A, B,” it is understood that the chips A andB bet on tie have been correctly collected.

The controller 2014 can determine whether or not information of an ID ofRFID of the collected game token 1 determined by the chip traydetermination device agrees with information of an ID of RFID of the betgame token 1 read by the chip reader 25. By this determination, it ispossible to determine whether or not the game token 1 collected in thechip tray is the game token 1 bet on the game table, and whether or notthe game token 1 is wrongly collected from another place.

The controller 2014 can determine, on the basis of the RFID informationread by the chip reader 25, a chip type such as a cash chip, a rollingchip, or a promotion chip, and can store an amount of bet money for eachtype of the determined chips and an amount of money collected orredeemed.

A rolling chip is a special chip that can be purchased by a specificmember and cannot be exchanged for cash, and an amount of the purchasedrolling chips is managed for each member. A rolling chip must beconsumed for betting, and redemption for betting using a rolling chip ismade by a cash chip. By storing an amount of the rolling chips bet orcollected on the basis of the RFID information read by the chip reader25, an amount of rolling chips that a specific member is expected tohave can be determined.

The chip reader 25 has a function of a confirmation area, and can read agame token 1 placed for redemption. As illustrated in FIG. 15, in a casewhere redemption is made to banker at the sitting number 2, the gametoken 1 for the redemption is placed and read in the chip reader 25. InFIG. 15, the game tokens 1 are placed next to the won game tokens 1 beton banker at the sitting number 2. The controller 2014 can compare anamount of redemption, which is determined by using a measurement resultof a position, an amount, and the number of the game tokens 1 based on agame result obtained from the game result determination device and theimage analysis result by the image analyzer, with an amount of the gametokens 1 placed for each sitting number, which is based on a readingresult by the chip reader 25, determine whether or not the amount of theredemption agrees with the amount of the game tokens 1 placed for eachsitting number, and output a determined result. In FIG. 16, at thesitting number 1, the total number of the game tokens 1 expected to bepaid is four, whereas a reading result by the chip reader 25 is three,which means the total number of the game tokens 1 and the reading resultdisagree. In a case where an amount of redemption disagrees with anamount of the game tokens 1 placed for each sitting number, a signalindicating the disagreement is output, and the dealer can replace a gametoken 1 for redemption on the basis of the output signal. In a casewhere the game token 1 is replaced, determination is performed again,and a determination result can be output. An area for placing the gametoken 1 for redemption may be anywhere in the chip reader 25. Further,as illustrated in FIG. 15, separately from a betting area, a paymentconfirmation area 26 may be arranged on a dealer side of the bettingarea. In FIG. 15, a game token 1 for redemption is placed in a paymentconfirmation area 26 at a sitting number 6, the chip reader 25 performsreading, the controller 2014 makes determination, and a redemption chipis placed next to the won game token 1 placed in banker.

For the confirmation area, the image analyzer 2012 may perform imageanalysis, and the controller 2014 may check a result of the imageanalysis with a reading result by the chip reader 25 to determinewhether or not a total number of the result of the image analysis and atotal number of the reading result by the chip reader 25 match.

On the basis of the determination made, the controller 2014 can output asignal. The signal may be displayed in a display unit of the chip tray 9or a display unit of a card distributor 2003, or may be output to thepit manager or to the backyard of the casino.

The chip reader 25 may use an entire betting area as one reading areafor each sitting number as illustrated in FIG. 17, or may use, for eachsitting number, a set of a player betting area and a banker betting areaas one reading area, and a set of tie betting area, player pair bettingarea, and a banker pair betting area as one reading area as illustratedin FIG. 18. Further, as illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 22, each sidebetting area for a tie betting area, a player pair betting area, and abanker pair betting area may be treated as one reading area.

A game token 1 used in an embodiment will be described below. FIG. 20 isan external view of and FIG. 21 is a front sectional view of a gametoken 1 used in this system. The game token 1 has a multi-layerstructure in which a plurality of plastic layers in different colors arelaminated. The game token 1 includes at least an intermediate colorlayer 101 and white layers 102 or light color layers on both sides ofthe color layer 101. The light color layers, which are not illustrated,are required at least to be layers in color lighter than color of thecolor layer 101. With the multi-layer structure in which theintermediate color layer 101 and the white layers 102 or light colorlayers, which is not illustrated and required at least to be layers incolor lighter than color of the color layer 101, on both sides of thecolor layer 101 are laminated, as illustrated in FIG. 20, to form astripe pattern in a lamination direction on a side surface, anddifferent colors (red, green, yellow, blue, or the like) are used forthe color layer 101, a type (10 points, 20 points, 100 points, 1,000points, or the like) of the game token 1 can be identifiable.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, the color layer 101 may be formed of aplurality of colored layers (FIG. 21 illustrates three layers). Becausethe plurality of the colored layers (three layers in FIG. 21) arethermally press-bonded to one another, three-layer structure is notvisible as illustrated in FIG. 21 that illustrates the three layers fordescription. Furthermore, a bore B is partially provided in a middle ofthe three layers of the color layer 101, and RFID is embedded therein.

A structure of the game token 1 is not limited to a structure in whichplastic is laminated, and may be similar to the color layer 101 inappearance.

A method for analyzing the game token 1 by the image analyzer 2012 willbe described below in detail. The image analyzer 2012 analyzes an imagerecorded on a recorder 11 and recognizes at least two colors, which area specific color 121 that is at least partially attached to the gametoken 1 and a reference color R that is present in the image and isdifferent from the specific color 121. Note that the specific color 121is at least partially provided to a predetermined position of a gametoken 1 or in a predetermined form. For example, the specific color 121may be provided as the color layer 101, may be provided on a sidesurface of the game token 1 in a circumferential direction, or may beprovided on a surface of the game token 1 as a predetermined mark.Further, the reference color R may be, for example, a color of aspecific area of the game table 2004, or may be a color attached to aplace different from the specific color 121 in the game token 1.

The image analyzer 2012 includes an artificial intelligence device 12 athat identifies a specific color by, for example, deep learningtechnology, and determines the number and types of the game tokens 1placed on the game table 2004. A recognition device 12 may furtherdetermine a position of the game token 1 on the game table 2004.

The image analyzer 2012 acquires a plurality of images of the game token1 and reference color R, which are irradiated with differentilluminances, learns the acquired images and a correct specific color121 and reference color R of the game token 1 in each image as teachingdata by teaching from a human, and creates a learning model 13 a(recognition program). Note that a relative relation of the specificcolor 121 and the reference color R can be acquired, because in theimages of the game token 1 and the reference color R irradiated with anilluminance of the same condition, the specific color 121 and thereference color R are irradiated with the same illuminance. For example,this relative relation may be used for recognition of the specific color121.

Further, without using artificial intelligence, a chip recognitiondevice 12 may extract a center line C of the game token 1 with a methodfor measuring a feature of a shape, brightness, saturation, and hue inthe images by using a result of an image analysis of the images capturedby a camera 2002 and recorded as images.

Furthermore, the artificial intelligence device 12 a is configured torecognize at least two colors of the specific color 121 and thereference color R, which is different from the specific color 121 in aperipheral image of a predetermined range around the extracted centerline C, by analyzing the peripheral image, which is for example a rangeof eight pixels orthogonal to the center line as a center. Note that,the extracted peripheral image of the predetermined range around thecenter line C may be analyzed as is, or after image processing such ascolor emphasis and noise reduction so that the specific color 121 can beeasily recognized.

In summary, the artificial intelligence device 12 a of the recognitiondevice 12 is an artificial intelligence device configured to extract thecenter line C from the image of the game token 1 and recognize at leasttwo colors of the specific color 121 and the reference color R differentfrom the specific color 121, which are in the peripheral image, byanalyzing the peripheral image of the predetermined range around thecenter line C as a center, and taught, as teaching data, the pluralityof peripheral images of the game token 1 and the reference color Rirradiated with different illuminances.

In another embodiment, the controller 2014 further includes a functionto determine at least one among whether or not: 1) in each game, thereis transference of a chip from time of start of drawing cards or startof game operation by the dealer to time before display of a win/lossresult of the game by a card distributor, 2) after an end of each game,there is transference of a chip by a person other than the dealer whilethe dealer is collecting the chips bet by a loser among the gameparticipants, 3) after an end of each game, any chip has been addedwhile the dealer is collecting a chip bet by a loser among the gameparticipants, 4) after an end of each game, the dealer has paid to aposition of a chip that a winner among the game participants has bet,and 5) after an end of each game, a winner among the game participantshas taken a bet chip and a payed chip.

Further, the controller 2014 may be configured to determine at least oneof 1) to 5) described above by detecting transference of hands of thedealer and game participant, transference of chips, or transference ofthe hands and the chips by using an analysis result from the imageanalyzer 2012.

As a feature function, the controller 2014 has functions described in 1)to 5) below to determine whether or not there is any wrong against arule of a baccarat game: 1) In each game, the controller 2014 monitors,by information that the image analyzer 2012 obtains by using the camera2002, whether or not there is transference of a game token 1 from timeof a signal that starts drawing of cards obtained from the carddistributor 2003, or time of start of game operation by the dealer 2005pressing a start button 4 s to time before display of a win/loss resultof the game by the card distributor 2003; 2) After an end of each game,the controller 2014 monitors, by information that the image analyzer2012 obtains by using the camera 2002, whether or not a loser 6 haswrongly taken a game token 1 while the dealer 2005 is collecting a gametoken 1 bet by a loser among game participants 2006; 3) After an end ofeach game, the controller 2014 monitors, by information that the imageanalyzer 2012 obtains by using the camera 2002, whether or not a personother than the dealer 2005 (winner or loser) has added a won game token1W or has replaced the game token 1 to a winning position not bet whilethe dealer 2005 is collecting a game token 1 bet by a loser among thegame participants; 4) After an end of each game, the controller 2014monitors, by information that the image analyzer 2012 obtains by usingthe camera 2002, whether or not the dealer 2005 has correctly placed awon game token 1W for payment to a position of the game token 1 that awinner among the game participants 2006 has bet; and 5) After an end ofeach game (the dealer 2005 operates the card distributor 2003 to displaya win/loss result in a display lamp 13), the controller 2014 monitors,by information that the image analyzer 2012 obtains by using the camera2002, whether or not a winner 6W among the game participants 2006 hastaken a bet game token 1 and a payed game token 1W.

Note that, in the above embodiment, the image analyzer 2012 and thecontroller 2014 are devices having an artificial-intelligenceutilization structure or deep-learning structure. Specifically, theimage analyzer 2012 and the controller 2014 may analyze an image orperform various controls described above by using scale-invariantfeature transform (SIFT) algorithm, a convolutional neural network(CNN), deep learning, machine learning, or the like. These technologiesperform image recognition of a captured image to recognize an objectincluded in the image. In recent years, in particular, deep learningtechnology using a multilayered neural networks has been used torecognize an object with high accuracy. This deep learning technologygenerally recognizes an object with high accuracy by, over a pluralityof stages, layering in an intermediate layer between an input layer andan output layer of a neural network. Regarding this deep learningtechnology, a convolutional neural network, in particular, has drawnattention for having higher performance than a conventional objectrecognizing method based on an amount of image features.

In a convolutional neural network, a recognition object image to which alabel is attached is learned, and a main object included in therecognition object image is recognized. If there are a plurality of mainobjects in a learning image, learning is performed by designating aregion with a rectangle and attaching a label to an image correspondingto the designated region. Furthermore, in a convolutional neuralnetwork, it is also possible to determine a main object and position ofthe object in the image.

To further describe a convolutional neural network, an objectrecognition process involves extraction of candidate regions based on alocal feature by performing edge extraction processing, or the like, ona recognition object image, input of the candidate regions to theconvolutional neural network, classification of the candidate regionsafter extracting feature vectors, and obtainment of a classifiedcandidate region with a highest degree of certainty as a recognitionresult. A degree of certainty is quantity indicating how much similarityof an object in an image learned together with a certain image regionand a label is relatively higher than similarity of another class.

As described above, various embodiments have been described. However, itis needless to say that a device of the present embodiments may bemodified by a person skilled in the art as appropriate within the scopeof the preset disclosure according to a game to which the presentdisclosure is applied.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problem, a game tokenmanagement system according to an embodiment has a configuration inwhich: a single RFID tag having a data non-rewritable area and a datarewritable area is attached to a game token, the data non-rewritablearea of the RFID tag stores, as fixed information, at least one ofproduction information of the game token, product information of thegame token, casino information, amount information of the game token, ora serial number of the game token, the data rewritable area stores, asvariable information, location information of the game token, and thevariable information stored in the data rewritable area can be extractedfrom the fixed information stored in the data non-rewritable area in anidentical RFID tag, and the game token management system furtherincludes: a writer that adds the location information of the game tokento the data rewritable area, a reader that can collectively reads thefixed information stored in the data non-rewritable area of theplurality of game tokens and, on the basis of the read fixedinformation, can read the location information, which is a counterpartof the fixed information and stored in the data rewritable area, and amanagement controller that examines the location information obtainedfrom the reader, in which the data rewritable area stores a plurality ofpieces of location information including at least latest locationinformation among all pieces of location information written by thewriter, and the management controller includes a function to determinewhether or not any abnormality is present in history of the locationinformation obtained from the reader, and is configured to be able to,if there is abnormality, generate an error signal and identify the fixedinformation of the game token, which has been determined to be abnormal.

The data rewritable area is configured to store, together with thelocation information, information of time at which the writer writes tothe game token, and the management controller is configured todetermine, from the location information obtained from the reader,presence of abnormality by determining whether or not the game token hasnot been used for a predetermined period since last writing, or whetheror not the location information, which is supported to be written, isnot written.

In the management controller, the location information may include atleast one of information indicating a cage, information indicating entryor exit, or information indicating a backyard, a situation where thegame token has not been used for a predetermined period since lastwriting may be a situation where: 1) latest location information isinformation indicating a cage, and a predetermined period has passedbefore next information is written, 2) latest location information isinformation indicating entry, and a predetermined period has passedbefore next information is written, or 3) latest location information isinformation indicating exit, and a predetermined period has passedbefore next information is written, and a situation where locationinformation, which is expected to be written, is not written may be asituation where: 4) at a time of entry to a gaming hall, informationindicating exit is not written as latest location information in thedata rewritable area of the game token, 5) at a time of use at the cage,information indicating a backyard is not written, or 6) at a time ofexit from the gaming hall, information indicating a cage or a backyardis not written.

The location information may include information about an owner who ownsthe game token.

The management controller may have a function to determine, on the basisof the owner information obtained from the reader, presence ofabnormality when: 1) a person different from a latest owner whoseinformation is stored in the data rewritable area exchanges the gametoken for cash or another game token in the gaming hall, or exits thegaming hall, or 2) a person different from an owner at a time of exitwhose information is stored in the data rewritable area brings the gametoken in the gaming hall.

The information about the owner of the game token may be identified byface authentication or ID card reading.

The location information may further include information indicating aplace of a chip tray of a specific game table, information indicating aplace of a betting area, or information indicating a payout area.

The management controller may have a function to determine, on the basisof information indicating location of the chip tray of the game table orinformation indicating a place of the betting area or of the payoutarea, which is obtained from the reader, presence of abnormalitywhen: 1) a person different from a latest owner whose information isstored in the data rewritable area uses the game token at a game table,2) a person different from the person who purchased a game token withouta record of use at a game table attempts to exchange the game token at acage, 3) a game token not including information indicating a cage or abackyard is used in the gaming hall, or 4) latest location informationis information indicating a betting area or a payout area, and after apredetermined period has passed, the game token 1 is exchanged for cashat a cage or is used at a game table.

Information that the RFID tag has may be encrypted.

The data non-rewritable area may be configured to be functionallynon-writable or locked to disable wiring of data.

The reader may be configured to collectively read the fixed informationstored in the data non-rewritable area and location information storedin the data rewritable area, and the management controller may beconfigured to extract and determine, from the plurality of pieces offixed information of the plurality of game tokens, which are obtainedfrom the reader, the location information stored in the data rewritablearea in an identical RFID tag.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problem, the gametoken according to an embodiment includes a single RFID tag having adata non-rewritable area and a data rewritable area, in which the datanon-rewritable area stores, as fixed information, at least one ofproduction information of the game token, product information of thegame token, casino information, amount information of the game token, ora serial number of the game token, the data rewritable area isconfigured to store, as variable information, location information ofthe game token written by the writer, and configured to extract thevariable information stored in the data rewritable area based on thefixed information stored in the data non-rewritable area in an identicalRFID tag.

The game token may be configured to be able to collectively read thefixed information stored in the data non-rewritable area of theplurality of game tokens by a reader, and to read the locationinformation stored in the data rewritable area on the basis of the readfixed information.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problem, the tablegame management system according to an embodiment includes: a game tokento which an individually identifiable RFID is attached, a game table forplaying a game by using the game token, a game recorder that records,via a camera, an image of a game token bet by each game participant of agame played at the game table, an image analyzer that performs imageanalysis on the recorded image of the game token, a chip reader thatreads RFID attached to the game token bet by each game participant, anda controller that determines an image analysis result by the imageanalyzer and a reading result by the chip reader, in which the gametable includes a plurality of betting areas including at least a playerbetting area and a banker betting area for each sitting number, the chipreader reads the game token regarding an entire betting area as onereading area for each sitting number, or reads the game token for eachof a plurality of reading areas by dividing the entire betting area intoa plurality of reading areas which are less than the number of bettingareas, and the controller is configured to be able to determine typesand the number of the bet game tokens separately for each betting areasincluding at least the player betting area and the banker betting area,on the basis of an image analysis result by the image analyzer,determine whether or not a total amount or the total number of the gametokens for each of the sitting numbers or for each of the reading areasbased on an image analysis result by the image analyzer agrees with atotal amount or the total number of the game tokens for each of thesitting numbers or for each of the reading areas based on a readingresult by the chip reader, and output a determination result.

The controller may be configured to be able to output a sitting numberwith a determination result of disagreed amount or number.

The controller may be configured to be able to generate a signal thatindicates a possibility that RFID attached to the game token is brokenor RFID is not attached to the game token in a case where a total amountor the total number of the game tokens for each of the sitting numbersbased on a reading result of the chip reader is smaller than a totalamount or the total number of the game tokens for each of the sittingnumbers based on an image analysis result by the image analyzer.

The controller may further be configured to be able to generate a signalthat indicates a possibility of a reading error by the image analyzerreading the game token in a case where the total amount or the totalnumber of the game tokens for each of the sitting numbers based on areading result of the chip reader is larger than the total amount or atotal number of the game tokens for each of the sitting numbers based onan image analysis result by the image analyzer.

The table game management system may include a database storing an ID ofRFID attached to the game token, and the controller may be configured tobe able to check an ID of RFID based on a reading result by the chipreader with an ID stored in the database, determine authenticity of thegame token, and output a determination result.

The table game management system includes: a chip tray that keeps a gametoken used by a dealer at a game table, a chip tray determination devicethat can determine types and the number of the game tokens contained inthe chip tray, and a game result determination device that determines agame result of each game at the game table, in which the controller mayinclude: a calculation function that calculates income and outgo at agame table for a casino, at every collection and redemption for eachgame by using a measurement result of positions, an amount, and thenumber of game tokens based on a game result obtained from the gameresult determination device and an image analysis result by the imageanalyzer, a collection determination function that, after collection oflost chips bet by each game participant, compares an amount of chips atthe game expected to be collected, which is calculated from positions,types, and the number of chips bet by each game participant at the gametable, and the game result with an amount of actually collected chips inthe chip tray, and determines whether or not there is a differencebetween the amount of the chips expected to be collected and the amountof the actually collected chips to determine whether or not there hasbeen any wrong or an error with the collection of the game token, and aredemption determination function that performs redemption for a chipexpected to be redeemed, compares, after the redemption, a total amountof chips expected to be in the chip tray based on an amount of the chipsto be redeemed in the game, which is calculated from positions, types,and the number of chips bet by each game participant at the game table,and the game result, with an actual total amount of chips in the chiptray, and if having determined that there is a difference between theexpected total amount and the actual total amount, determines that therehas been a wrong or an error with the redemption.

The controller may be configured to identify the collected game tokenfor each sitting number on the basis of information of an ID of RFID ofthe collected game token determined by the chip tray determinationdevice and information of an ID of RFID of the game token read by thechip reader, compare, IDs, an amount, or the number of the identifiedgame tokens with IDs, an amount, or the number of the game tokensexpected to be collected for each sitting number, which has beendetermined by using a measurement result of positions, an amount, or thenumber of the game tokens based on a game result obtained from the gameresult determination device and an image analysis result by the imageanalyzer, and determine whether or not the IDs, an amount, or the numberof the identified game tokens agrees with the IDs, an amount, or thenumber of the game tokens expected to be collected for each sittingnumber.

The controller may be configured to be able to determine, at each game,a type of the game token classified by application or purpose of use onthe basis of information of ID of RFID of the game token read by thechip reader, and store, for each sitting number, an amount of the betgame tokens or an amount of the collected or redeemed game tokens by thetype.

The controller may be configured to be able to store a cumulative amountof the game tokens bet by type or a cumulative amount of the collectedor redeemed game tokens for each sitting number in a plurality of games.

A type of the game token may be at least a cash chip, a rolling chip, ora promotion chip.

The controller may be configured to be able to identify an owner on thebasis of ID information of the rolling chip and store a cumulativeamount of bet, collected, or redeemed rolling chip for each owner.

The chip reader may be configured to read the game token for redemptionplaced on the chip reader for each sitting number, and the controllermay be configured to be able to compare an amount of redemption, whichis determined by using a measurement result of a position, an amount,and the number of the game tokens based on a game result obtained fromthe game result determination device and an image analysis result by theimage analyzer, with an amount of the game tokens placed for eachsitting number, which is based on the reading result by the chip reader,determine whether or not the amount of the redemption agrees with theamount of the game tokens placed for each sitting number, and output adetermined result.

Further, the controller may be configured to be able to displaydisagreement in a case where a determination result of the redemptiondisagrees, perform determination again in a case where there has beenany change in amount of the game tokens placed on and read by the chipreader for each sitting number, and output agreement or disagreementagain.

The controller may be configured to be able to compare an amount of thegame tokens placed for redemption for each sitting number with increaseor decrease in amount of the game tokens in the chip tray from beforeredemption to after the redemption and determine whether or not there isa difference.

The chip reader may include a payment confirmation area, which isarranged on a dealer side of the betting area, for placing the gametoken for redemption.

The table game management system may further include a game participantidentification unit using a face authentication system or a player IDcard, and the controller may be configured to be able to associate thesitting number with information of the game participant identified bythe game participant identification unit.

A display unit that displays based on output of the controller may beincluded.

The game table may include a side betting area, in which the sidebetting area may be adjacently provided with a betting area for eachsitting number, the chip reader may be able to collectively read atleast one side betting area, and the controller may be configured to beable to determine types and the number of the game tokens bet at leastone side betting area on the basis of an image analysis result by theimage analyzer, determine whether or not a total amount or the totalnumber of the game tokens in at least one side betting area based on animage analysis result by the image analyzer agrees with a total amountor the total number of the game tokens in the side betting area based ona reading result by the chip reader, and output a signal of adetermination result.

Another embodiment is a table game management system including: a gametoken to which an individually identifiable RFID is attached, a gametable for playing a game by using the game token, a game recorder thatrecords, via a camera, an image of a game token bet by each gameparticipant of a game played at the game table, an image analyzer thatperforms image analysis on the recorded image of the game token, a chipreader that reads RFID attached to the game token bet by each gameparticipant, and a controller that determines an image analysis resultby the image analyzer and a reading result by the chip reader, in whichthe game table includes a betting area including a player betting area,a banker betting area, and a side betting area, the side betting area isadjacently provided with a betting area for each sitting number, thechip reader is able to collectively read at least one side betting area,and the controller is configured to be able to determine types and thenumber of the bet game tokens separately for at least one side bettingarea on the basis of an image analysis result by the image analyzer,determine whether or not a total amount or the total number of the gametokens for at least one side betting area based on an image analysisresult by the image analyzer agrees with a total amount or the totalnumber of the game tokens of the side betting based on a reading resultby the chip reader, and output a signal of a determination result.

The controller may be configured to be able to output the side bettingwith a determination result of disagreeing amount or number.

The controller may be configured to be able to generate a signal thatindicates a possibility that RFID attached to the game token is brokenor RFID is not attached to the game token in a case where a total amountor the total number of the game tokens for each side betting based on areading result of the chip reader is smaller than a total amount or thetotal number of the game tokens for each side betting based on an imageanalysis result by the image analyzer.

The controller may be configured to be able to generate a signal thatindicates a possibility of a reading error by the image analyzer readingthe game token in a case where a total amount or the total number of thegame tokens for each side betting based on a reading result of the chipreader is larger than a total amount or the total number of the gametokens for each side betting based on an image analysis result by theimage analyzer.

The controller may include a database storing ID of RFID attached to thegame token and may be configured to be able to check an ID of RFID basedon a reading result by the chip reader with an ID stored in thedatabase, and determine authenticity of the game token.

The controller may be configured to be able to identify the collectedgame token for each side betting on the basis of information of an ID ofRFID of the collected game token determined by the chip traydetermination device and information of an ID of RFID of the game tokenread by the chip reader, compare IDs, an amount, or the number of thegame tokens expected to be collected for each side betting, which hasbeen determined by using a measurement result of positions and an amountof the game tokens based on a game result obtained from the game resultdetermination device and an image analysis result by the image analyzer,with IDs, an amount, or the number of the game tokens collected for eachside betting, and determine whether or not a collecting amount agreesfor each side betting.

The following is a description of the fourth embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 shows the configuration of the management system of the firstexample of the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Themanagement system 110 traces the holders of game tokens without using adatabase. For this purpose, the information of the holder is stored inthe game token. The management system 110 has a roughly oval-shaped gametable 4004. The player 82 is located on one side of the table (lowerside in FIG. 23), and the dealer (omitted) is located on the other side.On the top surface of the game table 4004, betting areas 41 a to 41 e(hereinafter collectively referred to as “betting areas 41”) arelaid-out for each of multiple playing positions. Betting area 41 is anarea for players 82 to bet by placing game tokens 83. A chip tray 12 isprovided on the dealer position side of the game table 4004 for placingthe dealer's game tokens 82.

The game token 83 has the same configuration as the game token in theform described above. The RFID tag 2 has a non-rewritable area 21 forstoring the fixed information 3 and a rewritable area 22 for storing thevariable information 4. The RFID tag 2 stores a chip ID (identificationinformation) that uniquely identifies the game token 83 as uniqueinformation 3. The RFID tag 2 stores, as unique information 3, a chip ID(identification information) that uniquely identifies the holder of thegame token 83 as variable information 4.

In addition, a common user ID is assigned to the casino or dealer, andwhen the game token 83 is owned by the casino (including when it isstored in the chip tray 12), the user ID indicating the casino or dealeris stored in the variation information 4.

In each of the betting areas 41 a to 41 e of the game table 4004, RFIDantennas 511 a to 511 e (hereinafter collectively referred to as “RFIDantennas 511”) are provided. Specifically, the RFID antennas 511 areembedded under a raxa (woolen cloth) of the game table 4004,respectively, where the corresponding betting areas 41 are demarcated.RFID antennas 513 are also provided on the chip tray 12.

The RFID antenna 511 reads and writes data to the RFID tags 2 embeddedin the game tokens 83 placed in the corresponding betting area 41. TheRFID antenna 513 reads and writes data to the RFID tags 2 embedded ingame tokens 83 placed on the chip tray 12.

The RFID antennas 511 a-511 e and the RFID antenna 513 are connected tothe RF control device 54. In FIG. 23, only the line connecting antenna511 e and RF control device 54 is shown, and the line connectingantennas 511 a-511 d and RF control device 54 is omitted for the sake ofclarity of the figure, but antennas 511 a-511 d are also connected to RFcontrol device 54 in the same way as antenna 511 e. The RF controldevice 54 performs read and write control for each antenna. For thispurpose, each antenna is assigned an area ID that uniquely identifiesthe area to be read and written by that antenna. When reading, the RFcontrol device 54 performs reading periodically.

By referring to this area ID, it is possible to identify whether thegame token 83 that is read is in the chip tray 12 or in the betting area41, and for the betting area 41, it is also possible to identify whichbetting area 41 a to 41 e is for which playing position.

When reading, the RF control device 54 receives from each antenna thedata read by that antenna, and also identifies which area the data wasread in, i.e., the area ID. In addition, when writing, the RF controldevice 54 identifies the antenna to be written, i.e., the area ID, andtransmits the data to be written. This allows the RF control device 54to control reading and writing for each antenna individually.

Based on the data read at each antenna, the RF control device 54 outputsthe user ID (“User ID” in FIG. 23) of the game token 83 and the area ID(“Area ID” in FIG. 23) of the area where the user ID was read. Themanagement system 110 further has a management control device 56connected to the RF control device 54. The management control device 56receives the user ID and area ID from the RF control device 54, andspecifies the user ID to be written on the RFID tag 2 to the RF controldevice 54.

As explained below, the user ID stored in the RFID tag 2 of the gametoken 83 is changed as the game token 83 is moved, but the RFID tag 2stores not only the latest user ID but also the past user IDs asvariation information 4. Therefore, by referring to this variationinformation 4, it is possible to examine the change in the holder ofeach game token 83. In the following explanation, expressions such as“rewriting the user ID” mean changing at least the latest user ID, anddo not necessarily mean simultaneously erasing the information on pastuser IDs.

The management control device 56 updates the variation information 4 ofthe game token 83 based on the data (user ID and area ID) of the gametoken 83 received from the RF control device 54. The method of updatingthe variation information 4 is described below.

FIGS. 24-26 illustrate examples of updating the variation information.As shown in FIG. 24, a player bets game tokens 831 in the betting area41 b. The user IDs of the bet chips 831 and the area ID of its bettingarea 41 b, obtained by reading the RFID tags 2 of the bet chips 831(hereinafter referred to as “bet chip 831”), are input to the managementcontrol device 56.

At the stage of betting, as shown in FIG. 24, the same user ID (in theexample of FIG. 24, “P1”) is read from the betting area 41 b, and thesame ID (in the example of FIG. 24, “D” indicating that the holder is acasino or dealer) is read from the chip tray 12. If the player wins thegame, the dealer pays out (redeems) the game tokens (hereinafterreferred to as “payout chips 832”) from the chip tray 12 to be placednext to the bet chips 831 in the betting area 41 b, as shown in FIG. 25.

Then, “D” as well as “P1” will be read from the betting area 41 b as theuser TD. If there are two types of user IDs of game tokens 83 read fromthe same betting area 41, and one of them is “D” and the other one isthe user ID assigned to the player, the management control device 56changes the user IDs of all game tokens 83 in the betting area 41 to theuser ID assigned to the player (“P1” in the case of FIG. 25). In thiscase, the same “P1” is further written as the latest user IDs in the betchips 831 in which “P1” was stored as the user ID.

On the other hand, if the player loses the game, the bet chips 831 arecollected by the dealer into the chip tray 12, as shown in FIG. 26.Then, “P1” as well as “D” will be read from the chip tray 12 as the userID. If there is a user ID assigned to a player (“P1” in the example ofFIG. 26) other than “D” in the user IDs of the game tokens 83 read fromthe chip tray 12, the management control device 56 rewrites the user IDsof all the game tokens 83 in the chip tray 12 to “D.”

In addition, a collection float for temporarily storing the game tokens83 collected in the chip tray 12 may be provided, and an antenna for thecollection float may be separated from the antennas for other parts, sothat the above process is performed only for the game tokens 83collected in the collection float.

By the above process of the management control device 56, the user IDstored in the game token 83 is updated according to the change in theactual holder. In other words, in this embodiment, the user ID is storedin the RFID tag 2 of the game token 83 and the user ID is updated forthe payout chip 832 so that it is the same holder as the holder of thebet chip 831. This makes it possible to trace the transition of theholder due to the game played on the game table 4004 without using thedatabase or the player identification system described below, andwithout the management control device 56 having to keep track of theprogress of the game (betting phase, game phase, and settlement phase).

When a player purchases a new game token 83, the player is identifiedusing the player identification system described below, and the user IDof the casino or dealer is rewritten to the user ID of the identifiedplayer before the game token 83 is given to the player. In addition,when the player redeems the game token 83, the user ID of the game token83 given by the player is rewritten to the user ID of the casino ordealer.

FIG. 27 shows the configuration of the management system of the secondexample of the fourth embodiment. In the management system 120, a playeridentification system is introduced in addition to the configuration ofthe management system 110 of the first example. The playeridentification system may be either an image recognition systemcomprising a camera 52 and an image recognition device 55 or a cardauthentication system comprising a card 81 and a card reader 53.

The camera 52 photographs the face of a player 82 positioned in aplaying position and outputs the image generated by the photographing tothe image recognition device 55. The image recognition device 55 isequipped with a face recognition engine based on a neural network thathas learned the face images of a plurality of pre-registered players 82(hereinafter referred to as “members”). By inputting a face image fromthe camera 52 into the neural network, the image recognition device 55identifies which of the registered members the input face image is. Ifthe image from the camera 52 is not the face image of any of theregistered members, the image recognition device 55 outputs the resultthat the face image is the face image of a non-member.

The image recognition device 55 also identifies the playing position ofthe member in question based on the position in the image where the facewas recognized. The image recognition device 55 outputs the area ID(“Area ID” in FIG. 27) of the identified playing position along with theuser ID (“User ID” in FIG. 27) of the member corresponding to the imagefrom the camera 52. If the image recognition device 55 is unable toidentify any of the members, it outputs “Unknown” as the user ID.

The card reader 53 scans the member's card 81 handed from the player 82to the dealer, and reads the information stored in the member's card 81.The member's card 81 is a magnetic card on which a magnetic stripe isformed, and the magnetic stripe stores at least the user ID of theplayer 82 (member). When the dealer receives the member's card 81 fromthe player 82, the dealer scans the member's card 81 using the cardreader 53 and inputs the playing position of the player 82 into the cardreader 53. The card reader 53 outputs the user ID (“User ID” in FIG. 27)read from the member's card 81 and the area ID (“Area ID” in FIG. 27) ofthe playing position entered by the dealer.

The user ID and the area ID stored in the game token 83 and read usingthe antenna 511 are input to the management control device 56 from theRF control device 54, the user ID and the area ID identified based onthe face image of the player are input from the image recognition device55, and the user ID obtained by reading the member's card 81 and thearea ID specified by the dealer are input from the card reader 53.

If the user ID read from the antenna 511, i.e., the user ID stored asthe holder of the game token 83 that is bet in the betting area 41 andthe user ID read from the member's card 81 or user ID identified by theimage recognition device 55, i.e., the user ID identified by the playeridentification system do not match for the same area ID, the managementcontrol device 56 controls the RF control device 54 to rewrite the userID stored as the holder in the variable area 4 of the game token 83 betin the betting area 41 to the user ID of the player identified by theplayer identification system.

The RF control device 54 uses the antenna 511 to write the user ID ofthe player identified by the player identification system in therewritable area 22 of the RFID tag 2 of the game token 83 placed in thebetting area 41. At this time, the RF control device 54 also records inthe writable area 22 that the user ID as holder information has beenrewritten due to a mismatch in the user ID. This allows the casino ordealer to know that there has been a discrepancy in the holder byreferring to the history of the change of the holder when the casino ordealer acquires the game token 83, and it is also possible to identifythe player who was involved in such a discrepancy.

In the player identification system, only one of the identification ofthe player by the face recognition system and the identification of theplayer by reading the member's card 81 may be performed. In other words,the registered members do not necessarily have to be identified by themember's card 81 when they arrive at the playing position, in which casethe player is identified only by the face recognition system. In such acase, the player is identified only by the face recognition system.Also, even if the player's face cannot be photographed properly and facerecognition cannot be performed, the player may be identified by themember's card 81.

In addition, the player may be identified by both face recognition andthe member's card 81. In this case, the user ID of the player identifiedby face recognition and the user ID of the player identified by themember's card 81 may differ. If the user ID of either of them matchesthe user ID read from the game token 83, the management control device56 controls the RF control device 54 to write the user ID of the onethat does not match the user ID read from the game token 83 in thewritable area 22 of the game token 83. In the case of a player who hasnot been identified by the player identification system, the playeridentification system shall record the fact that there was a discrepancyin the identification of the player.

In this example, as in the first example, the user ID stored in the gametoken 83 is updated according to the actual holder. Furthermore, in thisexample, when the user ID of the player identified by the playeridentification system and the user ID stored in the game token 83 do notmatch, the discrepancy is corrected and the fact that there was such adiscrepancy is recorded in the game token 83. Therefore, by referring tothis record of the game token 83, it can be known that there has been atransfer of the game token 83 between players, and the player involvedcan be identified.

When redeeming a game token 83, if the user ID of a player (user whointends to redeem) identified by face recognition or a member's card 81by using a player identification system described above differs from theuser ID stored in the game token 83 to be redeemed, an alarm to noticesuch a discrepancy may be output and the operator may not approve theredemption.

FIG. 28 shows the configuration of the management system of the thirdexample of the fourth embodiment. The management system 130 has adatabase 57 in addition to the configuration of the management system110 of the first example. In the database 57, a chip ID (“Chip ID” inFIG. 28) that uniquely identifies the game token 83 and a user ID of aplayer who possesses the game token 83 are associated and stored. Asdescribed above, the holder changes as the game token 83 is purchased,used in games, and redeemed, and the history of past holders is recordedin the database 57. Therefore, by referring to the database 57, it ispossible to know the change in the holder of each game token 83 s.

In this example, the game token 83 need only have a non-writable area 21and need not have a writable area 22. In other words, it is sufficientthat the game token 83 has at least a chip ID stored in it. In addition,the RF control device 54 need not have the function of writing, and maybe an RF reader having only the function of reading.

The management control device 56 updates the database 57 based on thedata (chip ID and area ID) of the game token 83 received from the RFcontrol device 54. The method of updating the database 57 is describedbelow.

FIGS. 29 to 31 illustrate examples of updating the database 57. As shownin FIG. 29, a player bets 831 game tokens in the betting area 41 b. Thechip ID of the bet chip 831 and the area ID of the betting area 41 bthereof, obtained by reading the RFID tag 2 of the bet chip 831 bet bythe player in the betting area 41 b, are input to the management controldevice 56.

At the stage of betting, as shown in FIG. 29, “C00001” to “C00005” areread from the betting area 41 b as the chip IDs, and “C20001” to“C20100” are read from the chip tray 12 as the chip IDs. The RF controldevice 54 then outputs the pairs of the chip IDs read by the antennas511 and 513 and the area IDs corresponding to the antennas 511 and 513to the management control device 56. In the example of FIG. 29, the RFcontrol device 54 obtains the combination of the chip IDs “C00001” to“C00005” and the area ID “Area 2,” and the combination of the chip IDs“C20001” to “C20100” and the area ID “Area T” (area ID representing thechip tray 12), and outputs those to the management control device 56.

If this player wins the game, the payout chips 832 are paid out(redeemed) from the chip tray 12 by the dealer and placed next to thebet chips 831 in the betting area 41 b, as shown in FIG. 30. Then, theRF control device 54 obtains the combination of the chip IDs “C00001” to“C00005” and “C20001” to “C20005” with the area ID “Area 2,” and thecombination of the chip IDs “C20006” to “C20100” with the area ID “AreaT,” and output those to the management control device 56.

The management control device 56 refers to the database 57 for all theread chip IDs to obtain the user ID associated with the chip ID. Then,the management control device 56 refers to the combination of chip IDand area ID obtained from the RF control unit 54 and updates thedatabase 57 if the user IDs associated with multiple chip IDs with thesame area ID are different from each other to make those user IDs thesame user ID.

Specifically, if there is a player's user ID and a casino or dealer'suser ID as the user IDs of multiple game tokens 83 read with the area IDof the same betting area 41, the management control unit 56 rewrites thecasino or dealer's user ID to the player's user ID to unify the user IDsassociated with the chip IDs paired with the same area ID.

On the other hand, if the player loses the game, the dealer collects thebet chips 831 in the chip tray 12, as shown in FIG. 31. The RF controldevice 54 reads the chip IDs “C20001” to “C20100” and “C00001” to“C00005” from the chip tray 12 as well as the area IDs “C20001” to“C20100” and “C00001” to “C00005. The RF control device 54 obtains pairsof these chip IDs “C20001” to “C20100” and “C00001” to “C00005” and thearea ID “Area T” of the chip tray 12, and outputs those to themanagement control device 56.

The management control device 56 refers to the database 57 for all theread chip IDs to obtain the user ID associated with the chip ID. Then,the management control device 56 refers to the combination of chip IDand area ID obtained from the RF control unit 54 and updates thedatabase 57 if the user IDs associated with multiple chip IDs with thesame area ID are different from each other to make those user IDs thesame user ID.

Specifically, if there is a player's user ID and a casino or dealer'suser ID as the user IDs of multiple game tokens 83 read with the area IDof the same betting area 41, the management control unit 56 rewrites theplayer's user ID to the casino or dealer's user ID, thereby changing theuser ID of all chip IDs associated with the area ID of the chip tray tothe casino or dealer's user ID.

By the above process of the management control device 56, the user IDstored in the database 57 is updated according to the actual holder. Inother words, in this embodiment, the database 57 is rewritten to unifythe user IDs of game tokens 83 associated with different user IDs in thesame area with one of the user IDs, depending on the area. Thus, withoutusing the player identification system described above and without themanagement control device 56 having to keep track of the progress of thegame (betting stage, game stage, and settlement stage), the transitionof the holder due to the game played on the game table 4004 can betraced.

In the above example, the management control unit 56 determined that thechips those were read in the betting area 41 and whose user IDs was “D”in the database 57 are the payout chips 831, and rewrote its user ID tothe player's user ID. Alternatively, the chip IDs of the payout chips832 may be identified based on the difference in chip IDs read from thechip tray 12 before and after the payout.

For example, in the examples of FIGS. 29 and 30, before the payout, asshown in FIG. 29, chip IDs “C20001” to “C20100” are read from chip tray12, whereas after the payout, as shown in FIG. 30, chip IDs “C20006” to“C20100” are read from the chip tray 12, as shown in FIG. 30. Therefore,the management control device 56 can determine that chip IDs “C20001” to“C20005” have been paid out based on the difference.

FIG. 32 shows the configuration of the management system of the fourthexample of the fourth embodiment. In addition to the configuration ofthe management system 110 of the first example, the management system140 has a player identification system, a database 57, and a carddistribution device (electronic shoe) 4003. In a game table 4004, payareas 42 a to 42 e (hereinafter collectively referred to as “pay area42”) are provided on the dealer side from the betting area 41 of eachplaying position. In addition, antennas 512 a to 512 e (hereinaftercollectively referred to as “antennas 512”) are provided in pay areas 42a to 42 e, corresponding to the respective areas.

When the dealer pays out (redeems) game token 83 to a player 82 who haswon a game, the dealer positions the game tokens 83 taken from the chiptray 12 in the pay area 42 of the winning player 82 and then places itin the betting area 41 of that player 82.

The camera 52 in this example takes a picture of the player 82 as wellas the bet chips 831 that have been bet in the betting area 41. Theimage recognition device 55 performs image recognition processing notonly on the player's face but also on the bet chips 831 in the bettingarea 41, and recognizes which betting target (player, banker, tie,player pair, banker pair, etc.) the bet chips 831 in each betting area41 have been bet on in the betting area 41. The system recognizes whichbet chips 831 in each betting area 41 are wagered on which bettingtarget (player, banker, tie, player pair, banker pair, etc.) in thebetting area 41, and outputs the recognition result as the bettingcontents (“Betting” in FIG. 32).

A camera for capturing the face of the player 82 and a camera forcapturing the bet chip 831 may be separate cameras. Also, an imagerecognition device for identifying the player based on the image of theplayer's face and the image recognition device for recognizing the betcontents based on the image of the bet chip 831 may be separate devices.

In this example, the card distribution device 4003 determines theprogress of the game (i.e., whether the game is in betting, in game, orin settlement) and outputs it to the RF control device 54. The carddistribution device 4003 determines that the game has started when thefirst card is drawn, and determines that the game has ended based on thereading of the drawn card according to the game rules of baccarat. Thecard distribution device 4003 also determines that the settlement hasbeen completed and betting has started when the button for game start ispressed.

By reading at least the rank of the card drawn, the card distributiondevice 4003 determines the game outcome, such as player wins, bankerwins, tie, player pair, banker pair, etc., according to the rules of thebaccarat game.

The management control device 56 determines which playing position willreceive a payout based on the bet details obtained from the imagerecognition device 55 and the game outcome obtained from the carddistribution device 4003. The management control device 56 also obtainsthe user ID of the player for each playing position from the imagerecognition device 55 and the card reader 53, so it determines whichplayer will receive the payout based on this information as well.

The RF control device 54 activates the antenna 512 of the pay area 42 toread and write to the RFID tag of the game token 83 when the gameprogress status received from the card distribution unit 4003 is undersettlement.

The management control device 56 refers to the database 57, and if theuser ID associated with the chip ID of the payout chip 832 read from thepay area 42 is a casino or dealer user ID, the user ID is replaced withthe user ID associated with the chip ID of the bet chip 831 placed inthe corresponding betting area 41.

When the dealer collects a losing player's bet chip 831, the antenna 512in the pay area 42 may also read the chip ID of the bet chip 831, but inthis case, the chip ID read in the pay area 42 will match the chip IDread in the corresponding betting area 41 immediately before it,therefore based on this, it is determined that the chip ID was read inthe pay area 42 during collection, and the user ID of the game token 83read in the pay area 42 should not be rewritten.

In this example, the management system 140 is described as having aplayer identification system, a database 57, and a card distributiondevice (electronic shoe) 4003. However, as in the first example, in amanagement system without the player identification system, the database57, and the card distribution device (electronic shoe) 4003, the payarea 42 and the corresponding antenna 512 may be provided to update theuser ID as in this example.

In the management system 140 of the present example, the pay area 42 isprovided to read and write the RFID tag of the game token 83 separatelyfrom the betting area 41, so that the payout chip 832 paid out from thechip tray 12 can be read and written at a high speed. In other words, ifthe same antenna 512 as the bet chip 831 is used to read and write thepayout chip 832 as in the first through third examples above, it isnecessary to also read and write the bet chip 831 in order to read andwrite the payout chip 832, which takes time. However, since only thepayout chip 832 needs to be read and written in the payout area 42, thereading and writing can be done in a relatively short time and does notinterfere greatly with the game operation.

FIG. 33 shows the configuration of the management system of the fifthexample of the fourth embodiment. The management system 150 has the sameconfiguration as the management system 140 of the fourth example shownin FIG. 32. That is, in addition to the configuration of the managementsystem 110 of the first example, the management system 150 has a playeridentification system, a database 57, and a card distribution device(electronic shoe) 4003.

The camera 52 in this example captures the bet chips 831 bet in thebetting area 41 as well as the player 82. The image recognition device55 performs image recognition processing not only on the player's face,but also on the bet chips 831 in the betting area 41, and recognizeswhich betting target (player, banker, tie, player pair, banker pair,etc.) the bet chips 831 in each betting area 41 are placed on in thebetting area 41. The system recognizes which bet chips 831 in eachbetting area 41 are placed on which betting target (player, banker, tie,player pair, banker pair, etc.) in the betting area 41, and outputs therecognition results as betting contents (“Betting” in FIG. 32).

A camera for capturing the face of the player 82 and a camera forcapturing the bet chips 831 may be separate cameras. Also, an imagerecognition device that identifies the player based on the image of theplayer's face and an image recognition device that recognizes the betcontents based on the image of the bet chip 831 may be separate devices.

The card distribution device 4003 reads at least the rank of the cardsdrawn in sequence to determine the game outcome, including player wins,banker wins, ties, player pairs, and banker pairs, according to therules of the baccarat game.

The management control device 56 determines which playing position willreceive a payout (redemption) based on the bet details obtained from theimage recognition device 55 and the game outcome obtained from the carddistribution device 4003. The management control device 56 also obtainsthe user ID of the player for each playing position from the imagerecognition device 55 and the card reader 53, and thus determines whichplayer will receive the payout (redemption) based on this information aswell.

A pair of the area ID of the betting area 41 and the chip ID of the betchip 831 read in the betting area 41 is input to the management controldevice 56 from the RF control device 54 for each betting area 41. Asdescribed above, the management control device 56 determines whichplaying position is to receive a payout, so it refers to the database 57to obtain the user ID associated with the chip ID read at the playingposition that is to receive a payout, and updates the user ID to beassociated with the chip ID of the payout chip 832 with the obtaineduser ID.

The management control unit 56 recognizes the chip ID that is no longerread from the chip tray 12 due to payout as the chip ID of the payoutchip 832. When there is a plurality of players who receive payouts, thedealer makes payouts in order from the end in a predetermined direction(for example, payouts are made in order from the right-hand end of thedealer to the left-hand end of the dealer). This makes it possible todetermine to which playing position or player the payout chips 832 takenout of the chip tray 12 are to be paid out, even when there are multipleplayers to receive the payout.

In addition, since the management control device 56 can determine theplaying position of the losing player, it updates the database 57 sothat the user ID associated with the chip ID read from the betting area41 of the playing position is “D” representing the casino or dealer.

As described above, in this example, the management control device 56can determine which player or playing position's bet chips 831 willreceive payouts and which player or playing position's bet chips 831will be collected by ascertaining the betting contents and gameoutcomes. Since the management control unit 56 can also identify thechip IDs of those bet chips 831 and payout chips 832, it can change theuser IDs associated with which chip IDs in the database 57 and determinewhich user IDs should be changed. This allows the tracing of the holderof the game tokens 83.

FIG. 34 shows the configuration of the management system of the sixthexample of the fourth embodiment. The management system 160 has the sameconfiguration as in the second example. In baccarat, as described above,a plurality of playing positions are provided in the game table 4004,and a betting area 41 is provided for each playing position at aposition corresponding to each playing position in the game table 4004.In principle, one player plays in one playing position.

However, if all the playing positions are filled, some players (backbetting players) may appear from behind a player playing in a playingposition (sitting player) and bet in the betting area 41 assigned tothat sitting player, and some casinos or game tables 4004 allow thistype of betting. The back bet will result in multiple game tokens 83bets for the game with different user IDs in the same betting area. Themanagement system 160 in this example allows tracing the holder of thegame tokens 83 in such a case.

In the management system 160 of this example, as in the second example,the user ID of the game token 83 is stored in the rewritable area 22 ofthe RFID tag 2 of the game token 83, and no database is used. However,it has a player identification system that identifies the player.

In the example of FIG. 35, a bet chip 831 a with user ID “P1” and a betchip 831 b with user ID “P2” are bet in the same betting area 41 b. Atthis time, “P1” and “P2” are read from the betting area 41 b as the userIDs of the game tokens 83.

FIGS. 36 to 38 illustrate examples of payouts when both players win thegame. First, as shown in FIG. 35, a payout is made to the player 82 awith the user ID “P1.” At this time, the management system 160 is unableto distinguish whether the payout is made to the player 82 a with userID “P1” or to the player 82 b with user ID “P2,” and it is also unableto distinguish between multiple game tokens 83 for play in one bettingarea 41. The management control device 56 controls the RF control device54 to rewrite the user ID to the selective information “P1 or P2” forall the game tokens 83 in the betting area 41 b.

When the paid-out player 82 a takes his own bet chip 831 a and payoutchip 832 a from the betting area 41 b, the betting area 41 b remainswith the bet chip 831 b whose user ID is “P1 or P2,” as shown in FIG.37. The dealer confirms that the player 82 a has taken the game tokens83, and pays out the payout chip 832 b, whose user ID is “D,” to the betchip 831 b, as shown in FIG. 38. At this time, the management controldevice 56 controls the RF control device 54 to rewrite the user ID to“P1 or P2” for all game tokens 83 for play in the betting area 41.

As a result, players 82 a and 82 b who have placed bets in the samebetting area 41 will both possess game tokens 83 with “P1 or P2”recorded as the user ID.

If these players 82 a and 82 b bet on the same betting area 41 usingtheir game token 83 again, then both bet chips 831 a and 831 b will have“P1 or P2” recorded as the user ID. Alternatively, some betting chipsmay contain game tokens 83 whose user ID is “P1” or “P2.” In these casesas well, when making a payout according to the game outcome, themanagement control device 56 controls the RF control device 54 toselectively write “P1 or P2” as the user ID of all game tokens 83 forplay placed in the betting area 41 at the time of the payout.

When a bet chip 831 with a user ID of “P1 or P2” is collected in thechip tray 12, “D” representing a casino or dealer is written as the userID.

Thereafter, if a player 82 a or 82 b alone bets in the betting area 41 agame token 83 in which the user IDs of a plurality of users areselectively recorded, and if the user ID of the player identified by theplayer identification system matches any of the selective user IDs, thenthe management control device 56 controls the RF control device 54 torewrite the selective user ID of the game token 83 to the user IDmatched.

For example, when a player 82 a places a bet in the betting area 41alone with the game token 83 in which “P1 or P2” is recorded as the userID, the RF control device 54 reads the user ID “P1 or P2” from the betchip 831 in the betting area 41, and the player identification systemrecognizes that the user ID of the player who placed the bet in thebetting area 41 is “P1.” In this case, since the user ID “P1” matches P1in the “P1 or P2,” the management control device 56 controls the RFcontrol device 54 to rewrite the user ID of the bet chip 831 in thebetting area 41 to “P1.”

On the other hand, when a player who owns a game token 83 whose user IDis selectively recorded bets, and a player who has a user ID that is notin the selective player IDs bets in the same betting area 41 andreceives a payout according to the game outcome, the user ID of the gametokens 83 is written to further include the user ID of that player inthe choices.

For example, when a player 82 a bets a game token 83 with “P1 or P2”recorded as the user ID in the betting area 41, and another player betsa game token 83 with “P3” recorded as the user ID in the same bettingarea 41, and the payment is made according to the game outcome, themanagement control device 56 controls the RF control device 54 torewrite the user IDs of all the game tokens 83 including the payoutchips in the betting area 41 to “P1, P2 or P3.”

As described above, by allowing selective recording as the user ID, thepresent example allows tracing of the holder even when multiple playershave bet on the same betting area. Furthermore, by using the playeridentification system, it is possible to definitively rewrite theselectively recorded user ID.

If multiple players are betting on the same betting area 41, and someplayers win and some players lose, the betting chips of the losingplayers will be collected first, since the betting chips of the losingplayers will be collected first, so “D” will be recorded as the user IDwhen the chip tray 12 reads the collected bet chips, and the aboveprocess can be performed for the payout chips 832 and the remaining betchips to which the payout chips 832 are to be paid out.

FIG. 39 shows a configuration of the management system of the seventhexample of the fourth embodiment. The management system 170 has the sameconfiguration as the management system 130 of the third example. In themanagement system 170, it is also possible to trace the holder of thegame tokens 83 even when multiple players bet on the same betting area41.

FIGS. 40 to 44 illustrate an example of updating the database 57. When aplayer 82 a bets a bet chip 831 a in a betting area 41 b and a player 82b bets a bet chip 831 b in the same betting area 41 b, as shown in FIG.40, in the RF control device 54, from this betting area 41 b, as theuser ID, the chip IDs “C00001” to “C00005” of the bet chips 831 a andthe chip IDs “C10001” to “C10005” of the bet chips 831 b are read outfrom this betting area 41 b and output to the management control device56 as a combination with the area ID “Area 2” of the relevant bettingarea 41. In addition, the chip IDs “C20001” to “C20100” are read fromthe chip tray 12, and the combination with the area ID “Area T” of thechip tray 12 is obtained by the management control device 56.

As shown in FIG. 40, at this point, in the database 57, the chip IDs“C00001” to “C00005” are associated with the user ID “P1,” the chip IDs“C10001” to “C10005” are associated with the user ID “P2,” and the chipIDs “C20001” to “C20100” are associated with user ID “D.”

Assuming that both of these players 82 a and 82 b win according to thegame outcome, a payout is first made by the dealer for either bet chip831 a or bet chip 831 b, as shown in FIG. 41. At this time, in additionto the chip IDs “C00001” to “C00005” for bet chips 831 a and “C10001” to“C10005” for bet chips 831 b, the chip IDs “C20001” to “C20005” forpayout chips 832 a are read from the betting area 41 b and output to themanagement control device 56 as a combination with the area ID “Area 2”of the betting area 41.

At this stage, the management control device 56 cannot yet determinewhether the payout chip 832 a has been paid out to the bet chips 831 awith chip IDs “C00001” to “C00005” or to the bet chips 831 b with chipIDs “C10001” to “C10005.” Therefore, the database 57 is not updated.

Next, when the player 82 a takes the bet chips 831 a and the payoutchips 832 a that were paid out to the bet chips 831 a from the bettingarea 41 b, as shown in FIG. 41, only the chip IDs “C10001” to “C10005”of the remaining bet chips 831 b are read from the betting area 41 b.Based on this change, the management control device 56 determines thatthe payout chips 832 a with chip IDs “C20001” to “C20005” read from thebetting area 41 b have been paid out for the bet chips 831 a with chipIDs “C00001” to “C00005” and stores them in the database 57 is rewrittenfrom “D” to “P1,” i.e., from “D” to the user ID associated with the betchips 831 a that were removed from the betting area 41 b along with thepayout chips 832 a with chip IDs “C20001” to “C20005.”

The dealer after confirming that the bet chip 831 a and the payout chip832 a paid out to it are removed from the betting area 41 b, as shown inFIG. 43, pays out the payout chips 832 b to the bet chips 831 b in thesame betting area 41 b. Thus, the chip IDs “C10001” to “C10005” of thebet chips 831 b and the chip IDs “C20006” to “C20010” of the payoutchips 832 b are read from the betting area 41 b and recorded in themanagement control device 56 in combination with the area ID “Area 2” ofthe betting area 41.

Thereafter, when player 82 b takes this bet chip 831 b and payout chip832 b, as shown in FIG. 44, no chip ID is read from betting area 41 b,and only the chip ID read from chip tray 12 is input to the managementcontrol device 56. Based on this change, the management control device56 determines that the payout chips 832 b with the chip IDs “C20006” to“C20010” have been passed to the same players as those with the chip IDs“C10001” to “C10005,” and updates the database 57 so that the user IDsassociated with chip IDs “C20006” to “C20010” are the same as the userIDs associated with chip IDs “C10001” to “C10005.”

As described above, according to the management system 170 in thisexample, the system detects that the bet chips 831 and the payout chips832 have been removed from the betting area together and updates thedatabase 57 so that the user IDs of the payout chips 832 are the same asthe user IDs of the bet chips 831. Therefore, even when multipleplayers' game tokens 83 are bet in the same betting area 41, by payingout to those players in order, it is possible to determine to whichplayer the payout chips 832 were paid out to update the database 57,making it possible to trace the holders of the game tokens.

FIG. 45 shows the configuration of the management system of the eighthexample of the fourth embodiment. The management system 180 has the sameconfiguration as the management system 140 of the fourth example.However, in the management system 180, a player pair area 44, a tie area45, and a banker pair area 46 are provided as betting areas in the gametable 4004. In addition, antennas 514, 515, and 516 are provided in thegame table 4004 corresponding to the player pair area 44, tie area 45,and banker pair area 46.

Each of these areas 44 to 46 is divided into sections for each playingposition, and when betting in these areas 44 to 46, a player placeshis/her betting chips in the position (section) corresponding to his/herplaying position within these areas.

In other words, player pair area 44, tie area 45, and banker pair area46 are each a shared betting area shared by multiple players. In theexample of FIG. 45, players 82 a to 82 c are participating in the game,of which players 82 b and 82 c have placed bet chips 831 b and 831 c,respectively, in tie area 45.

In this example, the holders of the game tokens 83 can be traced in thesame way as in the sixth or seventh example for the shared betting areas44 to 46. Even if the management system 180 does not have the database57, the tracing of the holder of the game token 83 can be performed inthe same manner as in the sixth example, and even if the managementsystem 180 does not have the player identification system, the tracingof the holder of the game token 83 can be performed in the same manneras in the seventh example for the shared betting area.

FIG. 46 shows the configuration of the management system of the ninthexample of the fourth embodiment. The management system 190 is equippedwith a player identification system. In this example, the game tokens 83is traced without using the database 57. The game table 4004 has payareas 42 a to 42 e and their corresponding antennas 512 a to 512 e. Inthe fixed information 3 of the RFID tag 2 of the game token 83,information indicating the amount (value) of the game token 83 isstored, and the user ID of the holder is stored in the variableinformation 4.

In this example, the database 57 may be used, in which case the chip IDis stored in the game token 83, and the amount (value) of the game token83 and the user ID of the holder are stored in the database 57 inassociation with the chip ID.

As shown in FIG. 47, when the bet chips 831 a (five chips with theamount “100”) of the player 82 a and the bet chips 831 b (two chips withthe amount “1000”) of the player 82 b are placed in the betting area 41b, five bet chips 831 a with the amount “100” and the user ID “P1” areread, and two game tokens 83 with the amount “1000” are read, from thebetting area 41 b, and those are output together with “Area 2” that isan area ID to the management control device 56.

The management control device 56 detects the betting amount for eachplayer by calculating the total amount of betting chips for each bettingarea 41. In the case of FIG. 47, the management control device 56detects that the bet amount for user ID “P1” is “500” and the bet amountfor user ID “P2” is “2000.”

If both players 82 a and 82 b win as a result of the game, the dealerpays out (redeems) to each of the bet chips 831 a and 831 b in turn. Asshown in FIG. 48, when paying out the payout chip 832 a for the bet chip831 a first, the dealer places the payout chip 832 a in the pay area 42b.

At this time, the RF control device 54 reads the game tokens 83 in thepay area 42 b, reads that there are five game tokens 83 with the amount“100,” and outputs this information to the management control device 56.The management control device 56 detects the payout amount bycalculating the total amount of the payout chips 832 a read in the payarea 42 b.

The management control device 56 compares the payout amount of thepayout chips 832 a with the bet amount for each player in the bettingarea 41 b to identify the player whose bet amount matches the payoutamount. In the case of FIG. 48, five payout chips 832 a with the amount“100” are read from the pay area 42 b, and the payout amount is detectedto be “500.” The management control device 56 determines that thispayout amount “500” matches the bet amount “500” of the bet chip 831 awith the user ID “P1,” and rewrites the user ID of the payout chip 832 ato “P1.”

Then, when player 82 a takes the payout chip 832 a and the bet chip 831a, the bet chip 831 b of the player 82 b remains in the betting area 41b, as shown in FIG. 49. When the dealer places the payout chip 832 b inthe pay area 42 b for paying out for the bet chip 831 b, the managementcontrol device 56 detects the payout amount of the payout chip 832 b bycalculating the total amount of the payout chip 832 b.

The management control device 56 compares the payout amount of thepayout chip 832 b with the bet amount for each player in the bettingarea 41 b, and identifies the player whose bet amount matches the payoutamount. In the case of FIG. 49, two payout chips 832 b with the amount“1000” are read from the pay area 42 b, and the payout amount isdetected to be “2000.” The management control device 56 determines thatthis payout amount “2000” matches the bet amount “2000” of the bet chip831 b with the user ID “P2,” and rewrites the user ID of the payout chip832 b to “P2.”

As described above, even if multiple players have placed bets in thesame betting area 41, when their betting amounts are different, themanagement and control system 190 of this example determines whichplayer the payout chips are being paid out to based on the bettingamount and the payout amount of the payout chips.

In the above first to ninth examples, if the player 82 is a non-memberwho is not registered as a member, the player 82 cannot be identified bythe player identification system because such a non-member is notassigned a user ID. In addition, as described above, “Unknown” isrecorded as the user ID for the game token 83 owned by the non-member,because a valid user ID cannot be stored in the RFID tag 2 or thedatabase 57.

When paying out the payout chips 832 to a non-member player, themanagement system makes the user ID of the payout chip 832 to be“Unknown,” and when the bet chips 831 are collected from a non-memberplayer, the management system makes the user ID of the bet chip 831being collected to be “D.”

When a player who is a member and a player who is a non-member bet onthe same betting area 41, if both players win the game, the dealer mayperform pay out under a rule in which the payout chips are always paidout from the non-member first or always paid out from the member first.

For example, if the rule of always paying out non-members first is inoperation, the management system rewrites the user ID as “Unknown” forthe first payout chips 832 that is paid out, and rewrites the user IDsof the payout chips 832 that are later paid out to the user ID of theplayer who is a member, using the above example.

For example, if the rule of always paying out members first is inoperation, the management system rewrites the user ID of the firstpayout chip 832 to the user ID identified from the bet chips 831, andfor payout chips 832 that are paid out later, the user ID is rewrittenas “Unknown.

When the dealer identifies a player using the card identificationsystem, the dealer scans the member's card 81 by himself/herself and canknow which player is a member, but when the player is identified usingthe face recognition system, the dealer cannot know which player is amember. Therefore, as a result of recognition by the face recognitionsystem, visual information indicating the playing position or bettingarea where the user ID was recognized may be shown to the dealer by amonitor or the like.

FIG. 50 shows an example of a betting area in the eleventh example ofthe fourth embodiment. In this example, the betting area 41 of eachplaying position is divided into a betting area 411 for members and abetting area 412 for non-members, and the antennas are also divided intoantennas 511 for members and antennas 5112 for non-members.

By controlling the RF control device 54, the management control device56 rewrites the user ID of the game token 83 as in the first to ninthexamples above for the bet chips 831 bet in the betting area 411 formembers, and for the bet chips 831 bet in the betting area 412 fornon-members. The user IDs of all payout chips 832 that are paid out tothe bet chips 831 are rewritten to “Unknown.”

According to this example, the game token 83 whose user ID assigned tothe player is stored in itself or in the database 57 and the game token83 whose user ID assigned to the player is not stored in itself or inthe database 57 (the user ID is “Unknown”) will not be mixed and read,thereby the game token 83 whose user ID assigned to the player is storedin itself or in the database 57 can be traced effectively.

FIGS. 51A and 51B show other examples of betting areas in the eleventhexample of the fourth embodiment. In this example, the betting area 41for each playing position is selectively set to either the betting area41 for members, as shown in FIG. 51A, or the betting area 41 fornon-members, as shown in FIG. 51B.

In the vicinity of each betting area 41, there is a display 413 thatvariably indicates whether the betting area 41 is set for members or fornon-members, respectively. This display section 413 is installed underthe raxa of the game table 4004, and the displayed information isvisible to the player through the raxa.

The means of visually indicating whether each betting area 41 is set formembers or non-members is not limited to the display 413 embedded underthe raxa of the game table 4004. For example, a monitor installed on thegame table 4004 that is visible to the players may indicate whether eachbetting area 41 is set for members or non-members.

By controlling the RF control device 54, the management control device56 rewrites the user IDs of the bet chips 831 that are bet in thebetting area 41 as in the first to ninth examples above when the bettingarea 41 set for the members, and rewrites all the user IDs of the payoutchips 832 that are paid out to the bet chips 831 that have been bet inthe betting area 41 to “Unknown” when the betting area 41 set for thenon-members.

According to this example, the game token 83 whose user ID assigned tothe player is stored in itself or in the database 57 and the game token83 whose user ID assigned to the player is not stored in itself or inthe database 57 (the user ID is “Unknown”) will not be mixed and read,thereby the game token 83 whose user ID assigned to the player is storedin itself or in the database 57 can be traced effectively.

In the first to ninth examples above, it is also possible to trace theholder of the game token 83 when the game token 83 is exchanged betweenthe dealer and the player at the game table 4003. In this case, themanagement system is provided with means for determining the progress ofthe game (i.e., whether a game phase is “betting,” “playing,” or“settlement”). As such progress determination means, the carddistribution device 4003 can be used, but any other means may be used.

In the management system of this example, the management control device56 controls the RF control device 54 to cause each antenna to readperiodically at predetermined time intervals during betting. Duringbetting, the management control device 56 determines that the gametokens 83 is being exchanged when the game tokens 83 whose user ID is“D” is read at one of the betting areas 41 or one of the pay areas 42(hereinafter referred to as the “reading area of the game table 4004”),and when the game tokens 83 whose user ID is the user ID assigned to themember is read at the chip tray 12.

This is because, in terms of baccarat operation, during betting, thegame token 83 cannot be moved from the chip tray 12 to the game table4003 except for exchange, and the game token 83 of the player on thegame table 4003 cannot be moved to the chip tray 12. If the game phaseis “playing,” such movement of the game token 83 for game use is afraudulent act, and the management control device 56 may output an alarmwhen it detects such a movement of the game token 83 during the“playing.”

If a game token 83 whose user ID is the user ID assigned to a member or“Unknown” is read by the chip tray 12 during betting, the managementcontrol device 56 determines that the game token 83 is a game token 83(chip before exchange) that was placed on the game table 4004 by theplayer for exchange between chips.

Specifically, when the user ID is stored in the game token 83 itself,the management control device 56 determines that it is an exchange whenthe user ID assigned to the member or “Unknown” is read from the chiptray 12 during betting. In the case that the user ID is stored in thedatabase 57, the management control device 56 determines that anexchange is taking place when the number of game tokens 83 read from thechip tray 12 decreases during betting. Alternatively, if the user ID isstored in the database 57, when the number of game token 83 read fromthe chip tray increases during betting, the management control device 56may determines that an exchange is taking place.

In addition, if, a game token 83 whose user ID is “D,” indicating thatit is held by the casino or dealer, is read in the read area of the gametable 4004 during betting, the management control device 56 determinesthat the game token 83 is a game token 83 (chip after the exchange) thatis given to the player corresponding to the chip before the exchange.

Specifically, when the user ID is stored in the game token 83, themanagement control device 56 determines that it is an exchange when theuser ID “D” is read from the reading area of the game table 4004 duringbetting, and when the user ID is stored in the database 57, themanagement control device 56 reads the reading area of the game table4004 periodically during betting, and by referring to the database 57 ateach reading, determines that the game token 83 whose user ID is “D” hasbeen read from the reading area of the game table 4004.

The management control device 56 rewrites the user ID of the chip beforeexchange to “D” representing the casino or dealer, and rewrites the userID of the chip after exchange to the user ID of the chip beforeexchange. Specifically, if the user ID is stored in the RFID tag 2 ofthe game token 83, the management control device 56 controls the RFcontrol device 54 to rewrite the user ID stored in the correspondingchip before exchange and chip after exchange, and if the user ID isstored in the database 57 in association with the chip ID, themanagement control device 56 rewrites the user ID associated with thecorresponding chip ID in the database 57.

After identifying the chip before exchange and chip after exchange, themanagement control device 56 may control the RF control device 54 toexchange their user IDs (if the user ID is stored in the game token 83)or update the database 57 to exchange their user IDs (if the user ID isstored in the database 57).

In the above embodiment, the member's card 81 is a magnetic card and thecard reader 53 is a magnetic card reader that reads information from themagnetic stripe of the member's card 81, but alternatively, an RFID tagmay be embedded in the member's card 81 and the user ID may be recordedin the RFID tag. In this case, an RFID reader consisting of an antennaand an RF control device 54 is used as the card reader 53. Such anantenna may also be provided at each playing position. In this case, theplayer does not hand his own member's card 81 to the dealer, but has itread at each playing position. From each antenna, the user ID read fromthe member's card 81 is transmitted to the RF control device 54, alongwith information identifying the playing position. Furthermore, theantennas 511 in the betting area 41 and the RF control device 54 may beused as RFID readers for reading the member's card 81. In this case, theplayer can have the antenna 511 read the user ID by placing the member'scard 81 in the betting area 41 at his own playing position.

By the first to eleventh examples of the fourth embodiment describedabove, the following techniques are disclosed.

(A1) A management system that manages a game token, comprising: a holderidentification device configured to, when the game token is used,identify a holder of the game token by referring to a memory device thatstores a holder of the game token; a player identification deviceconfigured to, when the game token is used, identify a player who usedthe game token; and a control device configured to, for the game tokenused, store the player identified by the player identification device asthe holder in the memory device when the holder identified by the holderidentification device and the player identified by the playeridentification device do not match.

(A2) The management system according to (A1), wherein the control devicestores the fact that there is a discrepancy in the memory device when,for the game token used, the holder identified by the holderidentification device and the player identified by the playeridentification device do not match.

(A3) The management system according to (A1), wherein the playeridentification system identifies the player who used the game token byface recognition or by reading an ID card.

(A4) The management system according to (A1), wherein said memory deviceis a database or an RFID tag embedded in the game token.

(A5) A management system that manages a game token, comprising: a memorydevice configured to store a holder of the game token; a playeridentification device configured to identify a player who receivespayout of the game token; and a control device configured to store theplayer as the holder in the memory device for the game token paid out.

(A6) The management system according to (A5), further comprising anidentification device configured to a betting area assigned to theplayer, wherein the control device determines to which player the gametoken is paid out by identifying to which betting area the game token tobe paid out is paid out.

(A7) The management system according to (A5), wherein in case that inthe betting area, the game token for which the player identified by theidentification device is stored as the holder and the game token inwhich the player identified by the identification device is not storedas the holder are wagered, the control device stores, in the memorydevice, the player identified by the identified device as the holder ofthe game token which is paid out to the game token for which the playeridentified by the identification device as the holder.

(A8) The management system according to (A5), further comprising adetection device configured to detect amount of the game token paid out,wherein in case that in the betting area, the game token for which theplayer identified by the identification device is stored as the holderand the game token in which the player identified by the identificationdevice is not stored as the holder are wagered, the control devicestores the player identified by the identification device as the holderof the game token paid out in the betting area after detecting, by thedetection device, an amount corresponding to payout to the game tokenfor which the player identified by the identification device is notstored as the holder.

(A9) The management system according to (A5), further comprising adetection device configured to detect amount of the game token paid out,wherein in case that in the betting area, the game token for which theplayer identified by the identification device is stored as the holderand the game token in which the player identified by the identificationdevice is not stored as the holder are wagered, the control devicestores in the memory device the player identified by the identificationdevice as the holder of the game token first detected by the detectiondevice for the betting area.

(A10) The management system according to any of (A6) to (A9), whereinthe betting area comprises: an area for betting the game token for whichthe player identified by the identification device is stored as theholder; and an area for betting the game token for which the playeridentified by the identification device is not stored as the holder.

(A11) The management system according to any of (A6) to (A10), furthercomprising an output device configured to output visual information fordistinguishing the betting area in which the game token for which theplayer identified by the identification device is stored as the holderis bet and the betting area in which the game token for which the playeridentified by the identification device is not stored as the holder isbet.

(A12) A management system that manages a game token, comprising: amemory device configured to store a holder of the game token; and aplayer identification device configured to identify a plurality ofcandidate players who may receive a stack of the game tokens to be paidout; and a control device configured to store the plurality of candidateplayers as the holders for each of the gaming tokens constituting thestack to be paid out.

(A13) The management system according to (A12), wherein the playeridentification device identifies a plurality of players who receive thepayouts as a result of betting on the same betting area as the pluralityof candidate players.

(A14) The management system according to (A12), wherein the playeridentification device configured to identify a player betting the gametoken, the management system further comprises a holder identificationdevice configured to identify the plurality of candidate players storedas the holder in the memory device for the bet game tokens, wherein thecontrol device, when the betting player identified by the playeridentification device matches any of the plurality of the candidateplayers identified by the holder identification device, determine andstores it in the memory the matched candidate player as the holder.

(B1) A management system that manages chips storing identificationinformation, which are used in games on a game table, comprising: afirst identification device configured to read the identificationinformation stored in betting chips placed in a betting area on the gametable; a second identification device configured to acquire theidentification information stored in the payout chips that are paid outfor the betting chips; a memory device configured to store theidentification information in association with the holder of the chipthat stored the identification information; and a control deviceconfigured to store in the memory device the holder associated with theidentification information read from the bet chip by said firstidentification device as the holder associated with the identificationinformation of the payout chip acquired by the second identificationdevice.

(B2) The management system according to (B1), wherein the secondidentification device is the first identification device, and acquiresthe identification information stored in the payout chip by reading theidentification information stored in the payout chip placed in thebetting area.

(B3) The management system according to (B1), wherein the secondidentification device is a device configured to read the identificationinformation stored in the plurality of chips in the chip tray of thedealer, and is configured to obtain the identification informationstored in the payout chips from the difference between the plurality ofidentification information read before the payout chips are dispensedand the plurality of identification information read after the payoutchips are dispensed.

(B4) The management system according to (B1), wherein the secondidentification device acquires the identification information stored inthe payout chip by reading the identification information stored in thepayout chip placed in a payout area different from the betting area onthe game table.

(B5) The management system according to (B1), wherein the firstidentification device periodically reads the identification information,and when the first identification device no longer reads theidentification information read from the betting chip by the firstidentification device, the control device stores the holder associatedwith the identification information no longer read by the firstidentification device in the memory device as the holder associated withthe identification information of the payout chip acquired by the secondidentification device.

(B6) The management system according to (B1), wherein the secondidentification device acquires the identification information byperiodically reading the identification information stored in the payoutchip, and when the second identification device no longer reads theidentification information that the second identification device hasread from the payout chip, the control device changes the holderassociated with the identification information that the firstidentification device has read from the bet chip to the holderassociated with the identification information that is no longer read.

(B7) A management system that manages chips that store identificationinformation used in games at a game table, comprising: a firstidentification device configured to acquire the identificationinformation stored in chips before the exchange that are placed on thegame table by a player for exchange between chips; and a secondidentification device configured to acquire the identificationinformation stored in the chips after the exchange that are given to theplayer corresponding to the chips before the exchange; a memory deviceconfigured to store the identification information in association withthe holder of the chip that stored the identification information; and acontrol device configured to store the holder associated with theidentification information of the chip before the exchange obtained bythe first identification device in the memory device as the holderassociated with the identification information of the chip after theexchange obtained by the second identification device.

(B8) The management system according to (B7), wherein the control devicefurther stores the holder associated with the identification informationof the chip before the exchange obtained by the second identificationdevice in the memory device as the holder associated with theidentification information of the chip after the exchange obtained bythe first identification device.

(B9) The management system according to (B7), wherein the firstidentification device is a reader configured to read the identificationinformation of a plurality of the chips in a chip tray of a dealer andacquire increased identification information as the identificationinformation stored in the chips before the exchange.

(B10) The management system according to (B7), wherein the secondidentification device is a reader configured to read the identificationinformation of the plurality of chips in the chip tray of the dealer andacquire decreased identification information as the identificationinformation stored in the chips after the exchange.

(B11) A management system that manages an exchange of chips storingidentification information used in a game at a game table, comprising: areading device configured to read the identification information storedin the chips placed in a reading area on the game table for exchange; amemory device configured to store the identification information and theholder of the chip that stored the identification information inassociation with each other; and a control device configured to, whenassociated with the identification information stored on a first chipread by the reading device is different from the holder associated withthe identification information stored on a second chip, which isdifferent from the first chip, read by the reading device, store theholder associated with the identification information stored on a firstchip read by the reading device as the holder associated with theidentification information stored on a second chip, in the memorydevice.

FIG. 52 shows a structure of the management system of the fifthembodiment. The management system 210 of this embodiment can be used inaddition to or in place of the system for identifying players of any ofthe first to fourth embodiments described above. In other words, as aplayer identification system, a system that identifies a player by facerecognition and a system that identifies a player by scanning a member'scard are explained in the above embodiments, and the playeridentification system in this embodiment can be used in addition to orinstead of those systems.

As shown in FIG. 52, in each play position of the play table 5004 ofthis embodiment, card reading areas 61 a to 61 e (hereinaftercollectively referred to as “card reading areas 61”) for reading themember's card 810 are provided in front of the betting area 41.

A card RFID tag 811 is built into the member's card 810. The user ID isstored in this card RFID tag 811.

In the card reading area 61, card reading antennas 711 a to 711 e(hereinafter collectively referred to as “card reading antennas 711”)are embedded to read the card RFID tag 811 of the member's card 810placed therein. The card reading antennas 711 are connected to the RFcontrol device 54, which controls the card reading antennas 711 to readinformation from the card RFID tag 811.

The present example eliminates the need for the casino operator, such asa dealer or pit operator, to scan the member's card and specify the playposition, as in the above embodiments, in order to map a play positionto the member, even when the member's card is used to identify theplayer. The player only needs to place his or her member's card 810 onthe card reading area 61 in front of the betting area 41 of the gametable 5004 to map the play position to the member.

In this embodiment, the card reading area 61 also reads the game token83 that is in the possession of the player and that has not been bet inthe betting area 41 (hereinafter also referred to as “reserve chip833”). In this embodiment, the game token 83 has a built-in RFID tag 2(hereinafter referred to as “chip RFID tag 2” to distinguish it from thecard RFID tag 811). The chip RFID tag 2 stores information on the chipID and/or value (amount) of the game token 83.

In the example of FIG. 52, when a player 82 a wins a game and receives apayout, the payout chip 832 b paid out is read in the betting area 41 b.In the database 57, the holder of the payout chip 832 b is updated fromthe dealer or casino to the player 82 a. Specifically, in the database57, the user ID associated with the chip ID of the payout chip 832 b ischanged from the user ID indicating the dealer or the casino, and thechip ID of the payout chip 832 is replaced by the user ID of user 82 a,which is read from the member's card in the member's card reading area61 b.

Alternatively, when the payout chip 832 b is read in the card read area61 b, the user ID associated with the payout chip 832 b may be rewrittento the user ID read from the member's card 810 in the card read area 61b.

In addition, in case that the user ID and the value of the game token 83possessed by the member of the user ID are associated and stored in thedatabase 57, when the payout chip 832 b is read in the betting area 41 bor the card reading area 61 b, the database 57 may be updated toassociate the value of the payout chip 83 b with the user ID read at thecard reading area 61 b.

The user ID may be associated with the chip ID and/or value of the gametoken 83 possessed by the member of the user ID, and stored in the cardRFID tag 811 of the member's card 810 possessed by the member, insteadof the database 57. In this case, in the card reading area 61, writingcan be performed on the member's card 810 in addition to reading.

When the payout chip 832 b is read in the betting area 41 b or the cardreading area 61 b, the user ID stored in the member's card 810 isassociated with the chip ID and/or value of the game token 83 possessedby the member of the user ID, by storing the chip ID and/or value of thepayout chip 832 b in the member's card 810.

The user ID and the chip ID and/or value of the game token 83 possessedby the member of the user ID may be associated and stored in the chipRFID tag 2 instead of the database 57. In this case, in the betting area41 or card reading area 61, writing can be performed on the chip RFIDtag 2 in addition to reading.

When the chip ID and or value of the payout chip 832 b are read in thebetting area 41 b or the card reading area 61 b, the chip RFID tag 2 ofthe payout chip 832 b stores the user ID of the member's card 810 readin the card reading area 61 b, thereby the user ID stored in themember's card 810 is associated with the chip ID and/or value of thegame token 83 possessed by the member of the user ID.

In addition, it may be stored that the game token 83 having the chip IDthat is no longer read by neither the card reading antenna 711 nor theantenna 511 of the betting area 41 (hereinafter referred to as the “chipreading antenna 511” to distinguish it from the card reading antenna711) has been collected and is now in the possession of the dealer orcasino. Alternatively, it may be stored that the value of the game token83 that is no longer read by neither the card reading antenna 711 northe antenna 511 of the betting area 41 has been transferred to thedealer or casino.

In addition, the database 57 may record not only information on themembers and the game token held by the members, but also the bettingperformance of each member. In this case, when the game token 83 is betin the betting area 41, the chip ID of the betting chip 831 is read inthe betting area 41, and the value, that is, the bet amount, isdetermined by referring to the database 57. If the value is stored inthe chip RFID tag 2, the bet amount can be determined by reading thevalue in the betting area 41. The amount of the bet is associated withthe user ID of the member's card 810 that was read in the card readingarea 61 of the play position, and is recorded in the database 57 as thebetting results of the member.

In the above embodiment, in each play position, a card reading area 61is provided separately from the betting area 41, and a chip readingantenna 511 is provided in the betting area 41 and a card readingantenna 711 is provided in the card reading area 61, respectively, butthe card reading area 61 and the card reading antenna 711 may beomitted, and the chip reading antenna 511 in the betting area 41 may beused to read and write to the card RFID tag 811 of the member's card810.

That is, in the above embodiment, the antenna for reading the chip RFIDtag 2 of the game token 83 such as the payout chip 832 at each playposition and the antenna for reading the member's card 810 may be thesame antenna.

In the above embodiment, a back-bet player's card reading area 61 may beprovided between each play position. As described above, since the backbetting player shares the same betting area 41 as the sitting player, itis necessary to determine whether the payout chips 832 have been paidout to the sitting player or to the back betting player. Thisrequirement can be fulfilled by using the above solution (e.g.,associating both the sitting player's user ID and the back bettingplayer's user ID with the chip ID of the payout chip 832).

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, even when a plurality of members'cards 810 are simultaneously read in one card reading area 61 and aplurality of stacks of betting chips 831 are bet in one correspondingbetting area 41, the user ID and chip ID can be associated with the userID.

In this embodiment, a member's card for non-members may be provided bythe dealer at the game table 5004 to a player who has not registered asa member. Hereinafter, the member's card provided to a registered memberis specifically referred to as the “regular member's card”, and themember's card provided to an unregistered player is specificallyreferred to as the “non-regular member's card”.

A temporary user ID indicating that the player is an unregistered playermay be stored in the non-regular member's card as a user ID. In thiscase, the temporary user ID may be different from each other in theplurality of non-regular members' cards. This makes it possible tomanage unregistered players by distinguishing them from each other,although it is not possible to identify individual players. In addition,when an unregistered player registers as a member, the informationrecorded on his or her non-regular member's card can be transferred tothe regular member's card.

In this embodiment, the member's card 810 may be always placed in thecard reading area 61 so that it is always read and written in the cardreading area 61. Alternatively, in case that the association between theuser ID of the player 82 and the chip ID or value of the game token 83owned by the player 82 is stored in the database 57 or chip RFID tag 2,the database 57 and the chip RFID tag 2 can be updated under theassumption that the player 82 of the member's card 810 is playing, inthe period from reading the member's card 810 at the card reading area61 for the first time to reading another member's card 810, or until itis canceled by the dealer.

When a player arrives at the play position and places the member's card810 and the game token 83 (reserve chip 833) that he/she possesses onthe card reading area 61, the RF control device 54 uses the card readingantenna 711 to read the card RFID tag 811 of the member's card 810 andthe chip RFID tag 833 of the reserve chip 833. On the other hand, thedatabase 57 stores, for each member, the user ID and the game token 83possessed by the member in association with each other.

The management control device 56 determines whether or not thecombination of the user ID stored in the card RFID tag 811 and the chipID stored in the chip RFID tag 2, read by the RF control device 54, isstored in the database 57. If the combination of the user ID and chip IDread by the RF control device 54 is not stored in the database 57, themanagement control device 56 outputs an alert.

The following techniques are disclosed by the fifth embodiment describedabove.

(C1) A management system of one embodiment is a management system 210 ina facility providing a game using a game table 5004 having a playposition, and comprising: a member's card 810 having a card RFID tag 811storing member information (user ID) built in; and a card RFID reader(card reading antenna 711 and RF control device 54) that is provided atthe play position of the game table 5004, and configured to read memberinformation (user ID) from the card RFID tag 811.

(C2) The management system 210 of (C1) above further may comprise: achip determination device (chip reading antenna 511 and RF controldevice 54) configured to determine chip identification information (chipID) of a payout chip (payout chip 832) to be paid out to a playposition, and a chip reader (chip reading antenna 511 and RF controldevice 54) that reads member information (user ID) and memberinformation (user ID); a storage medium (the database 57, chip RFID tag2, or card RFID tag 811) configured to store member information (userID) in association with the chip identification information (chip ID) ofthe chip (the game token 83) owned by the member corresponding to themember information (user ID); and a management control device 56configured to store the member information (user ID) read at the playposition with the chip identification information (chip ID) of thepayout chip 832 determined at the play position in association with eachother in the storage medium (the database 57, chip RFID tag 2, or cardRFID tag 811).

(C3) The management system 210 of (C1) above may further comprise: achip determination device configured to determine the value (amount) ofthe payout chip (payout chip 832) to be paid out to the play position(the chip reading antenna 711, an image recognition system to recognizethe amount, or the management control device 56 which determines thevalue based on the bet contents and the game outcome); a storage medium(the database 57, the chip RFID tag 2, or the card RFID tag 811) thatstores member information (user ID) and the value (amount) of the chip(the game token) owned by the member corresponding to the memberinformation (user ID) in association with each other; and the managementcontrol device 56 configured to store the member information (the userID) read at the play position and the value (amount) of the payout chip(the payout chip 832) determined in the play position in associationwith each other in the storage medium (the database 57, the chip RFIDtag 2, or the card RFID tag 811).

(C4) The management system 210 of (C1) above may further comprise: astorage medium (database 57, chip RFID tag 2, or card RFID tag 811)configured to store the member information (user ID) and the bet amountcorresponding to the member information (user ID) in association witheach other; a chip determination device (the chip reading antenna 511and RF control device 54) configured to determine chip identificationinformation (chip ID) of the bet chip 831 bet at the play position; thedatabase 57 configured to store corresponding relationship between thechip identification information (chip ID) and value (amount) of the betchip 831; and a management control device 56 configured to determinevalue (amount) corresponding to the chip information (chip ID)determined in the play position by referring to the database 57 andupdate the bet amount associated with the member information (user ID)stored in the storage medium (the database 57, the chip RFID tag 2, orthe card RFID tag 811) for the member information (user ID) read at theplay position based on the value (amount).

(C5) The management system 210 of (C1) above may further comprise: astorage medium (the database 57, the chip RFID tag 2, or the card RFIDtag 811) configured to store member information (user ID) associatedwith the bet amount corresponding to the member information (user ID); achip determination device (the chip reading antenna 511 and database 57,chip reading antenna 511, or an image recognition system that determinesthe value of chips) configured to determine the value (amount) of betchips 831 bet in the play position; and the management control device 56configured to update the bet amount associated with the memberinformation (user ID) stored in the storage medium (the database 57, thechip RFID tag 2, or the card RFID tag 811) for the member information(user ID) read at the play position based on the value (amount) of thebet chip 831 determined at the play position.

(C6) The management system of (C1) above may further comprise: a chipdetermination device (the card reading antenna 711 and RF control device54) configured to determine chip identification information (chip ID) ofthe reserve chip 833 that is not bet at the play position; a storagemedium (the database 57, the chip RFID tag 2, or the card RFID tag 811)configured to store the member information (user ID) and the chipidentification information (chip ID) of the chip (game token 83) ownedby the member corresponding to the member information (user ID) inassociation with each other; and the management control device 56configured to store the member information (user ID) read at the playposition and the chip identification information (chip ID) of thereserve chip 833 determined at the play position in association witheach other in the storage medium (the database 57, the chip RFID tag 2,or the card RFID tag 811).

(C7) The management system of (C1) above may further comprises: a chipdetermination device (card reading antenna 711 and RF control device 54,or image recognition system that determines the value of reserve chips833) configured to determine the value (amount) of reserve chips 833that is not bet in the play position; a storage medium (the database 57,the chip RFID tag 2, or the card RFID tag 811) configured to store themember information (user ID) and the value (amount) of the chip (thegame token 83) owned by the member corresponding to the memberinformation (user ID) in association with each other; and the managementcontrol device 56 configured to store the member information (user ID)read at the play position and the value (amount) of the reserve chip 833determined at the play position in association with each other in thestorage medium (the database 57, the chip RFID tag 2, or the card RFIDtag 811).

(C8) In the management system 210 of any of (C2), (C4), and (C6) above,the chip identification information (chip ID) of the chip (the gametoken 83) may be stored in the chip RFID tag 2 built into the chip (thegame token 83), the chip determination device (the chip reading antenna511 and the RF control device 54) and the card RFID reader (the cardreading antenna 711 and the RF control device 54) may be the samedevice, and the device may be configured to read the chip RFID tag 2 andthe card RFID tag 811.

(C9) In the management system 210 of (C3), (C5), or (C6) above, thevalue (amount) of the chip (the game token 83) may be stored in the chipRFID tag 2 built into the chip (the game token 83), the chipdetermination device (the chip reading antenna 511 and the RF controldevice 54) and the card RFID reader (the card reading antenna 711 andthe RF control device 54) may be the same device, and the device may beconfigured to read the chip RFID tag 2 and the card RFID tag 811.

(C10) In the management system 210 of (C2) above, the management controldevice 56 may be configured to, when one card RFID reader (the cardreading antenna 711 and the RF control device 54) reads a plurality ofmember information (user ID) from a plurality of members' cards 810 atthe same time, store the plurality of member information (user ID) readand the chip identification information (chip ID) in association witheach other in the storage medium (the database 57, the chip RFID tag 2,or the card RFID tag 811).

(C11) In the management system 210 of (C2) to (C7) above, the storagemedium may be provided in the chip (the game token 83).

(C12) In the management system 210 of (C2) to (C7) above, the storagemedium may be provided in the member's card 810.

In the management system 210 of (C2) to (C7) above, the storage mediummay be provided in the database 57.

(C14) The management system 210 of (C1) above may further comprise inthe play position: a card RFID reader (card reading antenna 711) for asitting player; and a card RFID reader (card reading antenna) for a backbetting player.

(C15) In the management system 210 of (C1) above, the member's card 810may include: a regular member's card in which member information uniqueto the registered member is stored in the card RFID tag 811; and anon-regular member's card in which temporary member information isstored in the card RFID tag 811.

(C16) In the management system 210 of (C15) above, a plurality of thenon-regular members' cards may have different temporary memberinformation stored in the card RFID tag 811.

(C17) In the management system 210 of (C1) above, the game table 5004may have a plurality of the play positions, and a card RFID reader (thecard reading antenna 711 and the RF control device 54) may be providedat each of the plurality of play positions.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES

-   1 Game token-   2 RFID tag-   3 Fixed information-   4 Variable information-   5 Block chain information-   6 Factory-   7 Backyard-   8 Warehouse-   9 Cage-   10 Gate-   11 Betting area-   12 Chip tray-   13 Reader-   14 Writer-   15 Management controller-   16 RFID antenna-   17 Database-   21 Data non-rewritable area-   22 Data rewritable area-   41 Betting area-   42 Pay area-   44 Player area-   45 Tie area-   46 Banker area-   53 Card reader-   54 RF control device-   55 Image recognition device-   56 Management control device-   57 Database-   61 Card reading area-   81 Member's card-   82 Player-   83 Game token-   110-210 Management system-   220 Location information-   221 Date/time information-   222 Place/event information-   223 Owner information-   511-513 Antenna-   711 Card reading antennas-   810 Member's card-   811 Card RFID tag-   831 Bet chip-   832 Payout chip-   833 Reserve chip-   1001 Game token-   1002 Chip reader-   1003 Controller-   1004 Game table-   1009 Chip tray-   1025 Chip placement area-   1026 Payment area-   2002 Camera-   2003 Card distributor-   2004 Game table-   2005 Dealer-   2006 Guest (game participant/player)-   2007 Chair-   2008 Betting area-   2009 Chip-   2010 Area-   2010P Player area-   2010B Banker area-   2011 Game recorder-   2012 Image analyzer-   2013 Result display lamp-   2014 Controller-   5004 Game Table

1. A management system in a facility providing a game using a game tablehaving a play position, the management system comprising: a member'scard having a card RFID tag storing member information built in; and acard RFID reader that is provided at the play position of the gametable, and configured to read member information from the card RFID tag.2. The management system according to claim 1, further comprising: achip determination device configured to determine chip identificationinformation of a payout chip to be paid out to a play position; astorage medium configured to store member information in associationwith the chip identification information of a chip owned by a membercorresponding to the member information; and a management control deviceconfigured to store the member information read at the play positionwith the chip identification information of the payout chip determinedat the play position in association with each other in the storagemedium.
 3. The management system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a chip determination device configured to determine a valueof the payout chip to be paid out to the play position; a storage mediumconfigured to store member information and the value of the chip ownedby a member corresponding to the member information in association witheach other; and a management control device configured to store themember information read at the play position and the value of the payoutchip determined in the play position in association with each other inthe storage medium.
 4. The management system according to claim 1,further comprising: a storage medium configured to store the memberinformation and a bet amount corresponding to the member information inassociation with each other; a chip determination device configured todetermine chip identification information of the bet chip bet at theplay position; a database configured to store corresponding relationshipbetween the chip identification information and the value of the betchip; and a management control device configured to determine valuecorresponding to the chip information determined in the play position byreferring to the database and update the bet amount associated with themember information stored in the storage medium for the memberinformation read at the play position based on the value.
 5. Themanagement system according to claim 1, further comprising: a storagemedium configured to store member information associated with the betamount corresponding to the member information; a chip determinationdevice configured to determine the value of bet chips bet in the playposition; and a management control device configured to update the betamount associated with the member information stored in the storagemedium for the member information read at the play position based on thevalue of the bet chip determined at the play position.
 6. The managementsystem according to claim 1, further comprising: a chip determinationdevice configured to determine chip identification information of areserve chip that is not bet at the play position; a storage mediumconfigured to store the member information and the chip identificationinformation of the chip owned by the member corresponding to the memberinformation in association with each other; and a management controldevice configured to store the member information read at the playposition and the chip identification information of the reserve chipdetermined at the play position in association with each other in thestorage medium.
 7. The management system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a chip determination device configured to determine thevalue of reserve chips that is not bet in the play position; a storagemedium configured to store the member information and the value of thechip owned by the member corresponding to the member information inassociation with each other; and a management control device configuredto store the member information read at the play position and the valueof the reserve chip determined at the play position in association witheach other in the storage medium.
 8. The management system according toclaim 2, wherein the chip identification information of the chip isstored in the chip RFID tag built into the chip, the chip determinationdevice and the card RFID reader are the same device, which is configuredto read the chip RFID tag and the card RFID tag.
 9. The managementsystem according to claim 3, wherein the value of the chip is stored inthe chip RFID tag built into the chip, the chip determination device andthe card RFID reader are the same device, which is configured to readthe chip RFID tag and the card RFID tag.
 10. The management systemaccording to claim 2, wherein the management control device isconfigured to, when one card RFID reader reads a plurality of memberinformation from a plurality of members' cards at the same time, storethe plurality of member information read and the chip identificationinformation in association with each other in the storage medium. 11.The management system according to claim 2, wherein the storage mediumis provided in the chip.
 12. The management system according to claim 2,wherein the storage medium is provided in the member's card.
 13. Themanagement system according to claim 2, wherein the storage medium maybe provided in the database.
 14. The management system according toclaim 1, further comprising in the play position: a card RFID reader fora sitting player; and a card RFID reader for a back betting player. 15.The management system according to claim 1, wherein the member's cardincludes: a regular member's card in which member information unique tothe registered member is stored in the card RFID tag; and a non-regularmember's card in which temporary member information is stored in thecard RFID tag.
 16. The management system according to claim 15, whereina plurality of the non-regular members' cards has different temporarymember information stored in the card RFID tag.
 17. The managementsystem according to claim 1, wherein the game table has a plurality ofthe play positions, and a card RFID reader is provided at each of theplurality of play positions.